Citation :

K. Varalakshmi, R. L. Narsimham, G. Tulasi Ramdas, "Performance Analysis of Virtual Synchronous Machine Based 13-Level Cascaded H-Bridge Statcom," International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT), vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 108-116, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V74I1P108

Abstract

For adjustable reactive power compensation in the distribution system, a STATCOM is interconnected between the primary source and load. The design of the STATCOM defines the quality of the reactive power compensation on the grid. In this paper, a virtual synchronous machine-based 13-level cascaded H-bridge STATCOM is proposed. The 13-level cascaded H bridge structure of the STATCOM reduces harmonics in the grid voltage and current. As the STATCOM is a static reactive power compensation device, the inertia of the circuit is very low, which creates peak voltages and currents in the grid. To make the STATCOM operate as a dynamic machine, a VSM concept is introduced in the controller. The VSM-based controller is included with inertia control, which makes the STATCOM work as an overexcited asynchronous machine. With inertia introduced in the control, the peak overshoots in the voltages and currents are reduced, stabilizing the system. The VSM control generates reference signals for the 13-level cascaded H-bridge STATCOM, taking feedback from the PCC voltages and collective DC link voltages of the H-bridges. The reference signals' magnitude and phase are controlled as per the demand on the grid side. The modeling and design of the proposed system is carried out in MATLAB Simulink software, with results analyzed as per different operating conditions.

Keywords

Static Synchronous Compensator, 13-level Cascaded H-bridge, Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM), Point of Common Coupling (PCC), MATLAB Simulink.

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