English

Interpreting Frame Transformations as Diagonalization of Harmonic Transfer Functions

Signal Processing 2020-03-11 v4

Abstract

Analysis of ac electrical systems can be performed via frame transformations in the time-domain or via harmonic transfer functions (HTFs) in the frequency-domain. The two approaches each have unique advantages but are hard to reconcile because the coupling effect in the frequency-domain leads to infinite dimensional HTF matrices that need to be truncated. This paper explores the relation between the two representations and shows that applying a similarity transformation to an HTF matrix creates a direct equivalence to a frame transformation on the input-output signals. Under certain conditions, such similarity transformations have a diagonalizing effect which, essentially, reduces the HTF matrix order from infinity to two or one, making the matrix tractable mathematically without truncation or approximation. This theory is applied to a droop-controlled voltage source inverter as an illustrative example. A stability criterion is derived in the frequency-domain which agrees with the conventional state-space model but offers greater insights into the mechanism of instability in terms of the negative damping (non-passivity) under droop control. The paper not only establishes a unified view in theory but also offers an effective practical tool for stability assessment.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1810.09911,
  title  = {Interpreting Frame Transformations as Diagonalization of Harmonic Transfer Functions},
  author = {Yunjie Gu and Yitong Li and Timothy C. Green},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1810.09911},
  year   = {2020}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T04:49:57.803Z