Use of real-time simulators to teach transient stability concepts

The three main aspects of power system analysis are: power flow calculations; fault analysis; and stability analysis. In general, it is relatively easy to explain the basic concepts behind the first two aspects of analysis, but the complex issues of stability analysis are quite difficult to understand. The stability analysis refers to the analysis of the electro-mechanical oscillations in a power system following a disturbance, the frequency range of interest being from about 0.2 Hz to 2 Hz. A simple nonmathematical definition of stability is given by Fouad (1977) as follows: the system is considered to be stable `if the oscillatory response of a power system during the transient period following a disturbance is damped and the system settles in a finite time to a new steady operating condition´. Given this definition of stability, this paper will take a brief look at the conventional tools for teaching stability concepts to young graduates entering the power transmission industry and then attempt to show the advantages of using a real-time simulator and animated graphics for this task