L. Liu | TU Delft Repository

A Contribution to the Development of High-Voltage dc Circuit Breaker Technologies

A Review of New Considerations

Journal article (2022) - Zhou Liu, Seyed Mirhosseini, Lian Liu, Marjan Popov, Kaiqi Ma, Weihao Hu, Sadegh Jamali, Peter Palensky, Zhe Chen

To promote the integration of renewable energy resources into modern energy systems, high-voltage dc (HVdc) and circuit breaker (CB) technologies have become critical to achieving secure and efficient energy transmission. This article reviews the technical development of the related areas, compares diverse breaker concepts and topologies, investigates possible coordination and testing solutions, and points out the remaining challenges as well as future needs. The time-domain simulation and comparative analysis are adopted in this article to analyze and compare the performances of different HVdc CBs. By making use of different selectivity levels of multiterminal HVdc (MTdc) grids, the suitable planning and placement of HVdc CBs can be conducted. Furthermore, by providing insights into the performance of HVdc CBs, the work presented in this article can serve as a useful asset for the upcoming standardization and industrial application process of HVdc grid and CB design and testing. ...

Modelling of large-sized electrolysers for realtime simulation and study of the possibility of frequency support by electrolysers

Journal article (2020) - Bart W. Tuinema, Ebrahim Adabi , Patrick K.S. Ayivor, Victor Garcia Suarez, Lian Liu, Arcadio Perilla , Zameer Ahmad, José Luis Rueda Torres, Mart van der Meijden, Peter Palensky

Hydrogen as an energy carrier holds promising potential for future power systems. An excess of electrical power from renewables can be stored as hydrogen, which can be used at a later moment by industries, households or the transportation system. The stability of the power system could also benefit from electrolysers as these have the potential to participate in frequency and voltage support. Although some electrical models of small electrolysers exist, practical models of large electrolysers have not been described in literature yet. In this publication, a generic electrolyser model is developed in RSCAD, to be used in real-time simulations on the real-time digital simulator. This model has been validated against field measurements of a 1 MW pilot electrolyser installed in the northern part of The Netherlands. To study the impact of electrolysers on power system stability, various simulations have been performed. These simulations show that electrolysers have a positive effect on frequency stability, as electrolysers are able to respond faster to frequency deviations than conventional generators. ...

Evaluation of WRF Modeling in Relation to Different Land Surface Schemes and Initial and Boundary Conditions

A Snow Event Simulation Over the Tibetan Plateau

Journal article (2019) - Lian Liu, Yaoming Ma, Massimo Menenti, Xinzhong Zhang, Weiqiang Ma

Snowfall and the subsequent evolution of the snowpack play important roles in the cryospheric and hydrospheric processes that occur on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Current literature provides scarce evidence covering the sensitivity of solid precipitation to land surface physics schemes and initial and boundary conditions on the TP. Six numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were conducted to simulate a snow event over the TP in March 2017. Different land surface physics schemes, that is, Community Land Model (CLM), Noah, and Noah-MP, and initial and boundary conditions provided by atmospheric reanalysis data sets, that is, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-FNL and ERA-Interim data sets, were applied in sensitivity analyses. The observed near-surface air temperature, snow depth, and snow water equivalent (SWE) values were used to evaluate each model's performance. The results demonstrate that (1) the sensitivity of the near-surface air temperature to land surface physics schemes is greater than it is to both the initial and boundary conditions; (2) the best performance is achieved when applying WRF + CLM with a root-mean-square error of 8.4 °C, a mean absolute deviation of 7.3 °C, a correlation coefficient of 0.75, and a spatial correlation coefficient of ~0.5 to air temperature estimates. A potentially important factor appears to be the advanced parametrization of albedo in the CLM scheme; (3) the advanced land surface schemes in the WRF model describes the physics of cryospheric and hydrospheric processes in detail, and the land surface response is determined by multiple variables and parameters in such schemes. The spatial patterns in such variables and parameters determined the detailed spatial variabilities observed in snow cover and amount and its temporal evolution. The WRF model overestimates, however, the intensity and extent of snow depth and SWE; (4) simulations of solid precipitation are more accurate when applying CLM or Noah-MP + ERA-Interim in WRF; and (5) WRF performance with regard to SWE estimates clearly depends upon the discrimination of lighter from heavier snowfall. ...

Snowfall and the subsequent evolution of the snowpack play important roles in the cryospheric and hydrospheric processes that occur on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Current literature provides scarce evidence covering the sensitivity of solid precipitation to land surface physics schemes and initial and boundary conditions on the TP. Six numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were conducted to simulate a snow event over the TP in March 2017. Different land surface physics schemes, that is, Community Land Model (CLM), Noah, and Noah-MP, and initial and boundary conditions provided by atmospheric reanalysis data sets, that is, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-FNL and ERA-Interim data sets, were applied in sensitivity analyses. The observed near-surface air temperature, snow depth, and snow water equivalent (SWE) values were used to evaluate each model's performance. The results demonstrate that (1) the sensitivity of the near-surface air temperature to land surface physics schemes is greater than it is to both the initial and boundary conditions; (2) the best performance is achieved when applying WRF + CLM with a root-mean-square error of 8.4 °C, a mean absolute deviation of 7.3 °C, a correlation coefficient of 0.75, and a spatial correlation coefficient of ~0.5 to air temperature estimates. A potentially important factor appears to be the advanced parametrization of albedo in the CLM scheme; (3) the advanced land surface schemes in the WRF model describes the physics of cryospheric and hydrospheric processes in detail, and the land surface response is determined by multiple variables and parameters in such schemes. The spatial patterns in such variables and parameters determined the detailed spatial variabilities observed in snow cover and amount and its temporal evolution. The WRF model overestimates, however, the intensity and extent of snow depth and SWE; (4) simulations of solid precipitation are more accurate when applying CLM or Noah-MP + ERA-Interim in WRF; and (5) WRF performance with regard to SWE estimates clearly depends upon the discrimination of lighter from heavier snowfall.

SnSe monolayer

A promising candidate of SO ₂ sensor with high adsorption quantity

Journal article (2019) - Huaiyu Ye, Lian Liu, Yixin Xu, Lingyun Wang, Xianping Chen, Kai Zhang, Yufei Liu, Sau Koh, Guoqi Zhang

Recently, the application of phosphorene structure analogues in gas sensors has been a hot research topic since the appearance of phosphorene. SnSe monolayer as one of them has been proved to be much more stable properties than phosphorene. Based on the density-functional theory, the interaction between gas molecules (CO, CO ₂ , O ₂ , NO, NH ₃ , SO ₂ and NO ₂ ) and SnSe monolayer are theoretically investigated by first-principles calculation. Macroscopically, gas molecules selective adsorption of SnSe monolayer is analyzed by molecular dynamics. Compared to CO, CO ₂ , O ₂ , SnSe monolayer performs stronger affinity for SO ₂ and NO ₂ , which possesses appropriate adsorption energies (−6.000 eV and −0.759 eV) and elevated charge transfers (−0.239 e and −0.328 e). SnSe monolayer chemical adsorption of NO ₂ , while physically adsorbing SO ₂ , is more suitable for the adsorption mode of SO ₂ sensors. Surprisingly, the adsorption amount of SO ₂ is 6 times that of NO ₂ . Therefore, the adsorption of SO ₂ is more likely to occur compared to other gas molecules. For a mixed environment of SO ₂ and NO ₂ , the adsorption quantity of SO ₂ is not significantly affected, while the adsorption of NO ₂ is inhibited. Therefore, the SnSe monolayer could be a promising candidate as SO ₂ sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity. ...

Recently, the application of phosphorene structure analogues in gas sensors has been a hot research topic since the appearance of phosphorene. SnSe monolayer as one of them has been proved to be much more stable properties than phosphorene. Based on the density-functional theory, the interaction between gas molecules (CO, CO ₂ , O ₂ , NO, NH ₃ , SO ₂ and NO ₂ ) and SnSe monolayer are theoretically investigated by first-principles calculation. Macroscopically, gas molecules selective adsorption of SnSe monolayer is analyzed by molecular dynamics. Compared to CO, CO ₂ , O ₂ , SnSe monolayer performs stronger affinity for SO ₂ and NO ₂ , which possesses appropriate adsorption energies (−6.000 eV and −0.759 eV) and elevated charge transfers (−0.239 e and −0.328 e). SnSe monolayer chemical adsorption of NO ₂ , while physically adsorbing SO ₂ , is more suitable for the adsorption mode of SO ₂ sensors. Surprisingly, the adsorption amount of SO ₂ is 6 times that of NO ₂ . Therefore, the adsorption of SO ₂ is more likely to occur compared to other gas molecules. For a mixed environment of SO ₂ and NO ₂ , the adsorption quantity of SO ₂ is not significantly affected, while the adsorption of NO ₂ is inhibited. Therefore, the SnSe monolayer could be a promising candidate as SO ₂ sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity.

Protection of multi-terminal HVDC systems

Algorithm development and performance verification by EMT simulations

Doctoral thesis (2019) - Lian Liu

In recent decades, the electrical power system has evolved into a new phase, in which the renewable energy resources are massively integrated into the grid. This change is mainly inspired by global policies that intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the society’s reliance on fossil fuels by replacing them with sustainable energy sources. The good examples are the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) that intends to integrate a high degree of renewables in Europe’s energy system, and the West-East Electricity Transmission Project that delivers wind energy from the northwest to the southeast of China. One important technology used to connect renewable energy resources is the high voltage direct current (HVDC) system based on the voltage source converter (VSC). Aside from the simple point-to-point HVDC link, the multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) system is another option to connect these remote energy resources. In the MTDC system, the generation units are usually unsynchronized turbines that are interfaced with powerelectronic- based converters. As such, the responses of theMTDC system after faults occur are drastically different fromthe conventional AC systems that are based on synchronized generators. Since the development of an MTDC system is an important process, the research on the matter must be carried out. In an electrical power system, the transient events refer to a system’s response shortly after disturbances occur, such as the generation loss, the load shedding, the transmission line tripping, and the fault. This thesis focuses on the MTDC system’s protection based on the system’s transient events after faults. Due to the low impedance of the DC system and the low inertia of the HVDC converter, a fault in the DC system can spread quickly throughout both the DC and AC sides. Usually, the transient behavior of the HVDC system must be observed within severalmilliseconds, and it is a challenge to simulate the transient phenomena of a large HVDC system. The reason is that the accuracy of the electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation heavily depends on how detailed the modeling system is: an extremely detailed system, such as one based on physical features of the semiconductor, cannot be modeled smoothly in the EMT application, while a too much simplified system cannot ensure accurate simulation results. Therefore, it means that a compromise must be made between modeling efficiency and accuracy. Consequently, this thesis implements an efficient method that ensures the efficient simulation of large-scaleMTDC system and its accurate transient phenomena. By using this method, the responses of an HVDC link after faults occur can be determined. More importantly, they can be classified into different stages, and the thesis explains themechanism of each stage. Furthermore, the thesis discusses the impact of grounding methods on the HVDC converter’s post-fault responses. ...

In recent decades, the electrical power system has evolved into a new phase, in which the renewable energy resources are massively integrated into the grid. This change is mainly inspired by global policies that intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the society’s reliance on fossil fuels by replacing them with sustainable energy sources. The good examples are the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) that intends to integrate a high degree of renewables in Europe’s energy system, and the West-East Electricity Transmission Project that delivers wind energy from the northwest to the southeast of China. One important technology used to connect renewable energy resources is the high voltage direct current (HVDC) system based on the voltage source converter (VSC). Aside from the simple point-to-point HVDC link, the multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) system is another option to connect these remote energy resources. In the MTDC system, the generation units are usually unsynchronized turbines that are interfaced with powerelectronic- based converters. As such, the responses of theMTDC system after faults occur are drastically different fromthe conventional AC systems that are based on synchronized generators. Since the development of an MTDC system is an important process, the research on the matter must be carried out. In an electrical power system, the transient events refer to a system’s response shortly after disturbances occur, such as the generation loss, the load shedding, the transmission line tripping, and the fault. This thesis focuses on the MTDC system’s protection based on the system’s transient events after faults. Due to the low impedance of the DC system and the low inertia of the HVDC converter, a fault in the DC system can spread quickly throughout both the DC and AC sides. Usually, the transient behavior of the HVDC system must be observed within severalmilliseconds, and it is a challenge to simulate the transient phenomena of a large HVDC system. The reason is that the accuracy of the electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation heavily depends on how detailed the modeling system is: an extremely detailed system, such as one based on physical features of the semiconductor, cannot be modeled smoothly in the EMT application, while a too much simplified system cannot ensure accurate simulation results. Therefore, it means that a compromise must be made between modeling efficiency and accuracy. Consequently, this thesis implements an efficient method that ensures the efficient simulation of large-scaleMTDC system and its accurate transient phenomena. By using this method, the responses of an HVDC link after faults occur can be determined. More importantly, they can be classified into different stages, and the thesis explains themechanism of each stage. Furthermore, the thesis discusses the impact of grounding methods on the HVDC converter’s post-fault responses.

Exploitation of Power-to-Gas for Ancillary Services Provision in the Netherlands

Conference paper (2019) - Bart Tuinema, P.K.S. Ayivor, V. Garcia Suarez, M.E. Adabi , L. Liu, J.L. Rueda Torres, Peter Palensky, Mart van der Meijden

In the future energy system, hydrogen as an energy carrier will play a role of increasing importance. Electrical energy can be converted into hydrogen locally by electrolysers and stored for a relatively long period. Then, the hydrogen can be used by final consumers like the transportation system or industries, as conceptually illustrated in Fig. 1. The flexibility of electrolysers offers promising possibilities for electrical grid support by the provision of ancillary services. Currently, a pilot power-to-gas facility with a 1-MW electrolyser is installed in the northern part of the Netherlands. A larger electrolysis plant of 300 MW may be installed in this area later. The feasibility of this large-scale plant, its impact on the stability of the electrical transmission network and the possibilities for ancillary services provision are currently being investigated in the project TSO2020 [1]. ...

Synchronized measurement technology supported AC and HVDConline disturbance detection

Journal article (2018) - M. Naglic, L. Liu, I. Tyuryukanov, M. Popov, M.A.M.M. van der Meijden, V. Terzija

In electric power system, disturbance detection has become an important part of grid operation and refers to the detection of a voltage and current excursion caused by the wide variety of electromagnetic phenomena. This paper proposes a computationally efficient and robust algorithm for synchronized measurement technology (SMT) supported online disturbance detection, suitable for AC and HVDC grids. The proposed algorithm is based on the robust median absolute deviation sample dispersion measure to locate dataset outliers. The algorithm is capable of identifying the disturbance occurrence and clearance measurement sample based on the dynamic criteria, driven by present power system conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by real-time simulations using a cyber-physical simulation platform, as a co-simulation between the SMT supported electric power system model and underlying ICT infrastructure. The presented results demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, making it suitable for an AC and HVDC online disturbance detection application or as a pre-step of backup protection schemes. ...

High Selective Gas Detection for small molecules based on Germanium selenide monolayer

Journal article (2018) - Lian Liu, Qun Yang, Zeping Wang, Huaiyu Ye, Xianping Chen, Xuejun Fan, Guoqi Zhang

Predictive calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) are used here to study the electronic and optical properties of GeSe monolayer after adsorbing gas molecules (O₂, NH₃, SO₂, H₂, CO₂, H₂S, NO₂, CH₄, H₂O, NO, CO). Our results reveal that for all the gas molecules considered, only NH₃ is adsorbed on GeSe monolayer by physisorption. Whereas SO₂ and NO₂ are chemisorbed on GeSe monolayer with strong adsorption energies. In addition, the adsorption of O₂, NO and NO₂ distinctly enhances the optical absorbance and broaden the absorbance range of GeSe monolayer in visible light region. Also, it is found that the adsorption of H₂S, NO and NH₃ can reduce the work function of the GeSe monolayer. The results indicate that GeSe monolayer is not only a promising candidate for the sensing, capture, and storage of NH₃, but also an anticipated disposable gas sensor or metal-free catalyst for detecting and catalyzing SO₂ and NO₂. Furthermore, it has excellent potential to be applied to optical sensors, solar cells, nanoelectronics or optoelectronics devices. ...

Optimized algorithm of active injection circuit to calibrate DC circuit breaker

Journal article (2018) - Lian Liu, Siyuan Liu, Marjan Popov

The widely acknowledged high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology has now been accepted as a solution of connecting renewable energy sources. However, this technology is vulnerable when facing DC-side faults; due to
the low DC impedance, the fault current can rise to an extremely high value in a short time. In addition, when building a multi-terminal DC (MTDC) system, the fault can make a worse failure or blackout of the system when it is not cleared or isolated in time. The urgent need to ensure reliable mentioned HVDC power system can be realized by making use of DC circuit breaker (DCCB). The vacuum CB, which is one division of active DCCBs, has its own operational limit; it can interrupt fault currents when the di/dt of injected current is lower than a critical
value, otherwise the arc may reignite. Therefore, the designing and testing of a DCCB must consider this feature. On the other hand, because of the complex
configuration of an MTDC system, one DC-side fault can result in different fault currents at faulty line’s terminals; thus, the DCCB needs to be calibrated based on its local fault information. This paper presents an algorithm to optimize the DCCB according to its critical di/dt and local fault current. Furthermore, the operational delay and chopping current of circuit breaker are also considered and
modelled. The simulation results from PSCAD platform verify the effectiveness of the presented algorithm. ...

Optimized Control of LCL-VSC Converter With Refined s-Parameter

Journal article (2017) - Lian Liu, Marjan Popov, Mart A.M.M. Van Der Meijden, Vladimir Terzija

For the control of high-voltage dc (HVdc) systems, especially for that of the multiterminal HVdc (MTdc) systems, the voltage source converter (VSC) is a good option because of its high controllability. These days, different types of VSC converters have been realized such as the two/three level converter and modular multilevel converter. However, VSC converters are vulnerable against dc faults because the paralleled diodesmay experience large fault currents. In order to maintain the sustainability of electricity delivery, efforts have been paid on protecting the HVdc networks, such as the novel converter topologies with the capability to tolerate faults and the dc circuit breaker. Among which, the concept of the inductor-capacitor-inductor circuit (LCL)-VSC converter aims at enhancing the ability of converter to ride through dc faults, which limits currents flowing fromthe ac side to dc side. The proposed method in this paper optimizes the control of LCL-VSC for partial load so that the power loss can be drastically decreased. In addition, the preferable working range for the LCL converter is introduced to guarantee the ability of restraining fault currents. The method is verified on the PSCAD/EMTdc platform. ...

The DC circuit breaker with necessary bidirectional interruption capability

Conference paper (2016) - Lian Liu, Mart Van Der Meijden, Marjan Popov, Vladimir Terzija

The HVDC technologies have become a promising solution for the future power grid, and DC circuit breaker (DCCB) is designed and tested to protect HVDC networks. Although there are several types of DCCB, they are basically designed for interrupting fault current in one direction. It has been noticed that capability of bidirectional interruption is necessary. Two possible bidirectional designs are demonstrated in this paper. In addition, installing DC capacitor at DC side of a VSC can lower the requirement of the DCCB due to the resonant current caused by this capacitor and the current limiting reactor in a DCCB. The simulation on PSCAD/EMTDC verifies the effectiveness of the proposed methods. ...

A Wavelet Transform-Based Protection Scheme of Multi-Terminal HVDC System

Conference paper (2016) - Lian Liu, Marjan Popov, Mart Van Der Meijden, Vladimir Terzija

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission has become a promising technology for the future electrical power grid, especially for the concept of Super Grid. There is a trend to connect the existing simple point-To-point HVDC lines together as multi-Terminal HVDC (MTDC) network for the sake of sustainable power supply. However, problems occur when it comes to protecting this complex electrical system because the current protection methods have shortcomings. Meanwhile, there are studies on developing protection schemes based on wavelet transform (WT), which are suitable for the point-To-point networks, but are insufficient for the MTDC networks. Therefore, this paper has conducted the transient analysis of a MTDC network after faults and presented a new WT-based protection. A protection scheme is then proposed. With certain thresholds, it has good selectivity of faults that are outside the protection zone. This protection scheme is validated by simulation on the PSCAD/EMTDC platform. ...