Grid Resiliency during Solar Storms

Solar storm events can cause short-term variations in the magnetic field surrounding the earth, which cause variations in electric field over the surface of the earth. These fields result in geomagnetically induced currents, or GICs, which flow through transmission lines and cause saturation of transformers, leading to reactive power losses and transformer ageing/damage. Ultimately, these effects can lead to suboptimal voltage profile and even total voltage collapse.

My PhD research was in the areas of modeling, monitoring, and mitigation to ensure that even during the high impact, low frequency natural events, the power grid is able to function and your lights are able to stay on!

Publications

G. P. Juvekar, C. Klauber, K. Davis, T. J. Overbye, K. Shetye, “A GIC-Inclusive State Estimator for Power System Awareness during Geomagnetic Disturbance Events,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, to appear.

C. Klauber, K. Shetye, J. Gannon, M. Henderson, Z. Mao, T. J. Overbye, “Real-Time Monitoring Applications for the Power Grid Under Geomagnetic Disturbances,” IEEE Electric Power and Energy Conference, November 2020

A. Martinez, K. Garcia, C. Klauber, T. J. Overbye, “Undergraduate Research on Design Considerations for a GMD Mitigation System,” Kansas Power and Energy Conference, July 2020 IEEE Xplore

C. Klauber, K. Shetye, T. J. Overbye, K. Davis, “A GIC Estimator for Electric Grid Monitoring During Geomagnetic Disturbances,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, June 2020 IEEE Xplore

C. Klauber, G. Juvekar, K. Davis, K. Shetye, T. J. Overbye,  “The Potential for a GIC-inclusive State Estimator,” North American Power Symposium, 2018 IEEE Xplore

C. Klauber, H. Zhu, “Power Network Topology Control for Mitigating the Effects of Geomagnetically Induced Currents,” Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers, 2016 IEEE Xplore

GIC-related work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Number NSF 15-20864. Check out the GIC Hazard Prediction website here.

Computational Methods for Distribution System Monitoring

Increasing penetration of distributed energy resources connected to the power distribution network requires accurate and robust real-time monitoring tools. Alternatives to the typical state estimation formulations are explored,  such as a semidefinite programming approach and a multi-phase adjusted linearization technique.

Publications

C. Klauber, H. Zhu, “Distribution System State Estimation using Semidefinite Programming,” North American Power Symposium, 2015.
IEEE Xplore

Presentations

C. Klauber, “Enhancing Grid Monitoring Methods for Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Integration,” WE15 Conference, 2015 (2nd Place poster)