Dominant mode identification for grey-box grid-tied converters

The dominant modes of the system can be described by the critical eigenvalues, which reflect the stability and stability margin. This paper proposes a dominant mode identification (DMI) method to assess the stability of the grey-box grid-tied converter. First, the analytical relationship between the eigenvalues and the transfer function is clarified based on the small-signal model. Furthermore, the critical eigenvalues are estimated by the system's transfer function. On this basis, the discrete transfer function of the grey-box grid-tied converter is constructed utilizing the frequency sweeping technique. Finally, the critical eigenvalues are determined using the measured data based on the customized particle swarm optimization algorithm. The method can apply to different grid connection scenarios of converter-based components and is easy to implement. The DMI method can not only assess the stability margin of grey-box grid-tied converters in operation, but also predict the stability of black-box converters after being connected to the grid in the planning stage.