Postdoctoral Researcher: Inverter-based Resources (IBR) Driven Power System Protection Study & Stability Analysis

National Laboratory of the Rockies•Golden, CO

11d•$76,600 - $126,400•Onsite

About The Position

This position is within the Energy Systems Control and Optimization (ESCO) group within the Power Systems Engineering Center (PSEC) at The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). It will be dedicated to multiple high impact projects to advance the state-of-the-art transient stability studies in inverter-based-resources (IBR) dominant grids. The successful candidate will be the key contributors to those projects to develop.

Requirements

Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.
Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.
Strong background of power system protection and good knowledge of protection relays (e.g., differential element, distance element, directional element, traveling wave based protection), and good hands-on experience with protection relay configuration and relay-hardware-in-the-loop testing and results analysis using Synchrowave etc.
Good knowledge in power electronics, control theory, and power system stability and familiar with IBR modeling, control, and stability analysis (e.g., small-signal stability analysis, transient stability analysis)
Good experience with short-circuit programs, such as CAPE, ASPEN and CAPE, and familiar with power system simulation software tools, such as PSCAD, PSSE, PSLF, Matlab/Simulink, RSCAD, and highly proficiency with python programing.
Excellent writing and communication skills
Ability to work independently and troubleshoot issues

Responsibilities

Develop protective relay models based on vendor’s relay datasheet and manual
Perform comprehensive fault studies to evaluate the adequacy of existing protection schemes and propose improved protection schemes, and validate through simulated relay models and commercial protective relays in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) for an industry collaborated project
Perform deep fundamental studies to investigate the IBR-driven stability from device level to system level and propose stability improvement control strategies for IBR dominant power systems with low inertia and short-circuit ratio (SCR).
Build IBR-dominated power systems EMT model in PSCAD and develop automatic script to run large set of simulation scenarios, and extract key features for studies (stability study etc.)
Lead and contribute to journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports.