Adaptive Control for Virtual Synchronous Generator Parameters Based on Soft Actor Critic

Sensors (Basel). 2024 Mar 22;24(7):2035. doi: 10.3390/s24072035.

Abstract

This paper introduces a model-free optimization method based on reinforcement learning (RL) aimed at resolving the issues of active power and frequency oscillations present in a traditional virtual synchronous generator (VSG). The RL agent utilizes the active power and frequency response of the VSG as state information inputs and generates actions to adjust the virtual inertia and damping coefficients for an optimal response. Distinctively, this study incorporates a setting-time term into the reward function design, alongside power and frequency deviations, to avoid prolonged system transients due to over-optimization. The soft actor critic (SAC) algorithm is utilized to determine the optimal strategy. SAC, being model-free with fast convergence, avoids policy overestimation bias, thus achieving superior convergence results. Finally, the proposed method is validated through MATLAB/Simulink simulation. Compared to other approaches, this method more effectively suppresses oscillations in active power and frequency and significantly reduces the setting time.

Keywords: adaptive control; damping coefficient; reinforcement learning; soft actor critic; virtual inertia; virtual synchronous generator.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number U22B20100.