Modal analysis of inter-area oscillations using the theory of normal modes

Based on the notion of normal modes in mechanical systems, a method is proposed for the analysis and characterization of oscillatory processes in power systems. The method is based on the property of invariance of modal subspaces and can be used to represent complex power system modal behavior by a set of decoupled, two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear oscillator equations. Using techniques from nonlinear mechanics, a new approach is outlined, for determining the normal modes (NMs) of motion of a general n-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system. Equations relating the normal modes and the physical velocities and displacements are developed from the linearized system model and numerical issues associated with the application of the technique are discussed. In addition to qualitative insight, this method can be utilized in the study of nonlinear behavior and bifurcation analyses. The application of these procedures is illustrated on a planning model of the Mexican interconnected system using a quadratic nonlinear model. Specifically, the use of normal mode analysis as a basis for identifying modal parameters, including natural frequencies and damping ratios of general, linear systems with n degrees of freedom is discussed. Comparisons to conventional linear analysis techniques demonstrate the ability of the proposed technique to extract the different oscillation modes embedded in the oscillation. � 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved