New Techniques for Measuring Impedance Characteristics of Three-Phase AC Power Systems

Naval ships as well as aerospace power systems are incorporating an increasing amount of power electronic switching sources and loads. Although these power-electronics-based components provide exceptional performance, they are prone to instability due to their constant power characteristics that lead to negative impedance. When designing these systems, integrators must consider the impedance versus frequency at a power system interface (which designates source and load). Stability criteria have been developed in terms of source and load impedance for both dc and ac power systems, and it is often helpful to have techniques for impedance measurement. For dc power systems, the measurement techniques have been well established. This paper suggests several methods for measuring ac impedance including utilization of power converters, wound-rotor induction machines, and chopper circuits. Simulation and laboratory results on an example ac power system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.