A Cyber-Physical Control Framework for Transient Stability in Smart Grids

Denial of service attacks and communication latency pose challenges for the operation of control systems within power systems. Specifically, excessive delay between sensors and controllers can substantially worsen the performance of distributed control schemes. In this paper, we propose a framework for delay-resilient cyber-physical control of smart grid systems for transient stability applications. The proposed control scheme adapts its structure depending on the value of the latency. As an example, we consider a parametric feedback linearization (PFL) control paradigm and make it “cyber-aware.” A delay-adaptive design that capitalizes on the features of PFL control is presented to enhance the time-delay tolerance of the power system. Depending on the information latency present in the smart grid, the parameters and the structure of the PFL controller are adapted accordingly to optimize performance. The improved resilience is demonstrated by applying the PFL controller to the New England 39-bus and WECC 9-bus test power systems following the occurrence of physical and cyber disturbances. Numerical results show that the proposed cyber-physical controller can tolerate substantial delays without noticeable performance degradation.