Sensitivity of DC Network Representation for GIC Analysis

TL;DR

This paper examines how different DC network representations impact the accuracy of GIC analysis and power loss estimations in energy infrastructure during geomagnetic disturbances.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis of various DC modeling approaches for GIC analysis and highlights their influence on loss calculations.

Findings

Different modeling choices significantly affect power loss estimates.

The paper provides insights into optimal DC representation methods for GIC analysis.

Variations in modeling can lead to different mitigation strategies.

Abstract

Geomagnetic disturbances are a threat to the reliability and security of our national critical energy infrastructures. These events specifically result in geomagnetically induced currents, which can cause damage to transformers due to magnetic saturation. In order to mitigate these effects, blocker devices must be placed in optimal locations. Finding this placement requires a dc representation of the ac transmission lines, which this paper discusses. Different decisions in this process, including the method of representing the blocking devices, result in significant variations to the power loss calculations. To analyze these effects, we conclude the paper by comparing the losses on a sample network with different modeling implementations.