A frequency-domain study of damping and synchronizing characteristics of virtual admittance-based grid-forming converters

Journal article, 2026

This paper investigates the damping and synchronizing characteristics that a grid-forming (GFM) converter should offer to the grid by analyzing the influence of its control parameters. With a focus on the virtual-admittance-based GFM (VA-GFM) control strategy, the analysis is based on the controller’s frequency response, obtained from a linearized model of the GFM converter. Such frequency domain-based assessments have recently been recommended by system operators, as they enable the converter to be treated as a black box model, thereby simplifying the evaluation process. However, existing approaches offer limited insight into how control parameters affect damping and synchronization across varying frequency regions. The results show that GFM control parameters influence these damping and synchronization properties differently depending on the frequency range, offering valuable insights for control system design. The analytical findings are validated through detailed time-domain simulations in MATLAB/Simulink.