Load frequency control for integrated hydro and thermal power plant power system

Abstract

Persistent electrical supply requires the power systems to be stable and reliable. Against varying load conditions, control strategies such as load frequency control (LFC) is a key mechanism to protect its stability. Traditional control strategies for LFC often face challenges due to system uncertainties, external disturbances, and nonlinearities. This paper presents an advanced approach to control load frequency and enhancing LFC in power systems by using sliding mode control (SMC). SMC offers powerful stability and robustness versus nonlinearities and perturbation, making it a promising approach for addressing the limitations of conventional control methods. We contemporary a comprehensive analysis of the SMC approach tailored for LFC, including the strategy and employment of the control algorithm. The proposed method makes use of a sliding/gliding surface to enable the system trajectories to be continuous on this surface despite parameter variations and external disturbances. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in frequency stability and system performance compared to conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers. The paper also includes a comparative analysis of SMC with other modern control techniques, highlighting its advantages in terms of robustness and adaptability.