 1 Introduction

o 1.1 Summary
o 1.2 Background
o 1.3 Required Software

 2 Pre-lab

 3 Lab Procedure

 4 Postlab

ECE433

 Laboratories

Lab 4 - Transient Stability Simulation

ECE433 - Power Systems Stability and Transients

Electrical and Computer Engineering - University of Alberta

figure 1: Power Station

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1 Introduction
The purpose of this experiment is to get you familiar with power system transient
stability analysis using computer software tools. In this lab, you will learn the basic
concepts of transient stability and associated assessment methods. Case studies will be
performed for you to understand the nature of the power system transient stability
behavior, including generator 'swing' characteristics and associated voltage and power
oscillation dynamics. Through this lab, you will gain an improved understanding on the
various factors that affect the transient stability of power systems.

1.1 Summary
Task 1 - PSAT Familiarization

Learn to load and view an example system file, complete a Power Flow simulation and
then inspect and save the results in the software that is used for this lab.

Task 2 - Transient Stability Analysis

Complete a series of Time Domain simulations when adding a fault to one of the buses
and changing the faults duration in order to determine the system’s critical fault clearing
time.

Task 3 - Impact of Fault Location

Determine how a fault’s location impacts the critical fault clearing time of the system by
running a series of Time Domain simulations with a fault on each one of the buses.

Task 4 - Impact of Line Tripping

Determine how removing a transmission line from the system impacts the critical fault
clearing time for the system by comparing this case to the initial case.

Task 5 - Impact of Inertia

Determine how the inertia of a generator effects the critical fault clearing time of the
system by comparing this case to the initial case.

1.2 Background

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1.2.1 Power System Transient Stability

Transient stability is the ability of a power system to remain in synchronism when

subjected to large transient disturbances. These disturbances may include faults on
transmission elements, loss of load, loss of generation, or loss of system components such
as transformers or transmission lines. Although many different forms of power system
stability have emerged and become problematic in recent years, transient stability still
remains a basic and important consideration in power system design and operation. While
it is true that the operation of many power systems is limited by phenomena such as
voltage stability or small-signal stability, most systems are prone to transient instability
under certain conditions or contingencies and hence the understanding and analysis of
transient stability remain fundamental issues. Also, transient instability can occur in a
very short time frame (a few seconds), leaving no time for operator intervention to
mitigate problems. It is therefore essential to deal with the problem in the design stage or
severe operating restrictions may result.

Following a disturbance, synchronous machine frequencies undergo transient deviations

from synchronous frequency and power angles change. The objective of transient
stability study is to determine whether or not the machines will return to synchronous
frequency with new steady-state power angles. In many cases, transient stability is
determined using “swing curves” plotted for a generator subjected to a particular system
disturbance. Trace “a” shown below shows that the generator power angle recovers and
oscillates around a new equilibrium point. It is deemed to be transiently stable. However,
in trace “b”, the power angle increases aperiodically and is considered transiently
unstable. What factors determine whether a machine will be stable or unstable? How can
the stability of large power systems be analyzed? If a case is unstable, what can be done
to enhance stability? These are some of the questions to be solved in this lab.

figure 2. Typical swing curves.

1.2.2 Methods of Transient stability Analysis

You have learned the theory of swing equation and equal area criterion in the lecture. It
can be used to conduct analytical studies on small systems. For a practical system with
large numbers of generators, transmission units and loads, the time-domain based
simulation method is a more applicable approach.

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For stability assessment, the power system is normally represented using a positive
sequence model. The network is represented by a traditional positive sequence power
flow model that defines the transmission topology, line reactances, connected loads and
generation, and pre-disturbance voltage profile.

Generators can be represented with various levels of detail, selected based on such factors
as length of simulation, severity of disturbance, and accuracy required. The most basic
model for synchronous generators consists of a constant internal voltage behind a
constant transient reactance, and the rotating inertia constant. This is the so-called
classical representation that neglects the machine physical construction factors (damper
windings, saturation, etc), the generation controls (excitation and governor systems) and
the details of the prime mover. More detailed models have been utilized in commercial
transient stability programs.

Transient stability studies are commonly performed after power flow studies. Based on
the pre- disturbance system profiles, time-domain simulation can be conducted. The
results are examined, usually through a graphical plotting, to determine if the system
remains stable and to assess the details of the dynamic behavior of the system. Typical
procedures for the transient stability analysis are as follows.

1. Collect data of network topology and power system components for power flow
studies
o one-line diagram of the network
o transmission line and transformer data
o shunt capacitors and reactors data
o bus load data
o generator real power output, scheduled voltage
2. Collect specified data for transient stability studies
o Dynamic data: Includes model types and associated parameters for
generators, motors, protections, and other dynamic devices and their
controls.
o Switching data: Includes the details of the disturbance to be applied. This
includes the time at which the fault is applied, where the fault is applied,
the type of fault and its fault impedance if required, the duration of the
fault, the elements lost as a result of the fault, and the total length of the
simulation.
o Program control data: Specifies such items as the type of numerical
integration to use and time-step.
o System monitoring data: This specifies which quantities are to be
monitored (output) during the simulation.
3. Solve power flow for the system
4. Perform transient stability studies
o Perform time domain simulation.
o Plot system swing curves to determine if the system remains stable.
o Repeat the above process for different fault locations and different
scenarios.

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o Document all study results

1.3 Required Software

The following software is installed on the computers that are provided in the laboratory.
The following installation instructions are provided if you care to install the software on
your own computers. It is your responsibility to get this working on your own hardware
as little support will be provided by the laboratory staff as it can become too time
consuming. Both Matlab/Simulink and the PSAT toolbox should be able to be installed
on Windows, macOS and Linux.

1.3.1 Matlab/Simulink

MATLAB is a programming and numeric computing platform widely used by engineers

and scientists to analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models.

figure 3. MATLAB and SIMULINK.

1.3.1.1 Installation Instructions

1. Create a Mathworks account using your University of Alberta email by visiting

this link. https://www.mathworks.com/login

If you already have an existing account, simply login.

Note: It is important that you use your University of Alberta email when creating
the account as this is how Matlab obtains its license.

2. Download the installer for your operating system for the recommended version of
Matlab by clicking on the download icon in your Mathworks account.
o Recommended Version - Matlab 2019a

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figure 4. My Software in your Mathworks account.

3. Install Matlab using the downloaded installer. When installing you only need to
install Matlab and Simulink. There is no other toolbox required to run the lab
other than the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) which is discussed below.
I would only install the toolboxes you need as the toolboxes can be very large and
can slow down your Matlab session. You can always add or remove toolboxes
from within Matlab or by running the installer again.

Note: You will need to authenticate during installation using the Mathworks
account you created in the first step to license Matlab properly.

figure 5. Licensing install method.

1.3.2 PSAT

The Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) is a Matlab toolbox for electric power
system analysis and simulation.

figure 6. PSAT (Power System Analysis Toolbox)

1.3.2.1 Installation Instructions

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1. Download the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) from the following link.
o Recommended Version - 2.1.11 - http://faraday1.ucd.ie/psat.html
2. Extract the downloaded .zip file to the Matlab toolbox directory at Program
files/MATLAB/R2019a/toobox/ by default on Windows. There should be a
similar directory for other operating systems.
3. Add a PSAT toolbox installation path to the same directory that you extracted the
toolbox too using the Set Path button on the toolbar in Matlab.

figure 7. Set PSAT toolbox path in MATLAB.

4. Launch PSAT by typing psat in the Matlab command window and after a few
moments the PSAT control windows should be displayed as shown below.

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figure 8. PSAT main command windows.

2 Pre-lab
Please complete the following before attending your scheduled lab session.

2.1 Pre-lab Tasks

 Make sure you know where and when to come to the lab by looking at the lab
schedule that is available on eClass.
 Familiarize yourself with the lab procedures and requirements by reading through
the lab manual.

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 Complete the questions from the ECE433 - Lab 4 - Prelab Questions template.
The same questions are shown below.
 Have at least, the ECE433 - Lab 4 – Sign-off sheet printed off before coming to
the lab.
 Note that there is a ECE433 - Lab 4 - Postlab template for you to complete to
hand in for submission. You will need to collect plots to include as images as well
as complete the tables. The postlab questions are shown inline in the lab manual
at the appropriate place as well as in the template.

2.2 Pre-lab Questions

1. What is transient stability? How does a transient instability manifest in a power
system?
2. What are the main objectives of stability analysis?
3. Give the definition of swing curve. Explain what is the scenario of loss of
synchronism?
4. What is the maximum real power output of a generator (simplified synchronous
generator model) to an infinite bus?
5. Explain the equal area criterion.
6. List at least four factors that can influence transient stability. Explain how to
manipulate these factors to improve the systems transient stability.

3 Lab Procedure
The system used for this experiment consists of 9 buses and 3 generating stations. It is so
called WSCC 3-machine, 9-bus system and is widely used in power system transient
stability studies. The system is shown in figure 9.

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figure 9: The test system (The WSCC 3-machine, 9-bus system)

3.1 PSAT Familiarization

PSAT is a free Matlab toolbox for electric power system analysis and control. It includes
power flow, continuation power flow, optimal power flow, small signal stability analysis
and time domain simulation. All operations can be assessed by means of graphical user
interfaces (GUIs) and a Simulink-based library provides a user friendly tool for network
design.

3.1.1 Load the Basecase

1. Download the .zip file from below which contains the Base Case that will be used
for this lab and extract it somewhere you can find in your user space. It is usually
easiest if you put the file in your default Matlab workspace. The extracted .zip file
contains a single .mdl file titled Lab_4_Basecase.mdl.

Base Case Download

2. In the PSAT command window click on the Open Data File button as shown
below or navigate the menus to File/Open/Data File.

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figure 10. Open Data file button.

3. From the opened Load Data File screen, navigate the directory structure to where
you have the .mdl file extracted. Make sure that the Filters is to PSAT Simulink
(.mdl) and select the correct Basecase file under Files in current path: and
then click on the Load button.

Note: The mdl file contains the single-line 9-bus system diagram in a Simulink
file format which was constructed with the PSAT simulink library. When we
Load Data file, PSAT extracts the data from the Simulink and creates another
file which ends with a .m, which it then uses in its simulation calculations. You
can review some of this conversion process in the Matlab Command Window.

figure 11. Load a simulink .mdl file into the PSAT toolbox for analysis.

4. To view and/or edit the single-line diagram of the system in Simulink, you can go
to File/Open/Simulink Model and open the same downloaded .mdl file.

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Note: If you make changes to the Simulink model you need to first save the new
model in the .mdl format and then make sure that you Load Data file in PSAT
before carrying out any simulation.

Note: The Simulink library blocks may have an Unrecognized functions or

variables error and are highlighted in red. As we are not using the Simulink solver
this does not matter. If the red highlight bothers you, you can try simulating the
model in Simulink, nothing will really simulate but it will create the missing
variables and the errors will go away.

Note: You can double click on the blocks in the model to edit their Block
Parameters.

figure 12. An open .mdl file in Simulink where the system can be edited.

5. Change the system frequency to 60 Hz in the main PSAT window as this is the
typical system frequency in North America, it defaults to 50Hz as the PSAT

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software is written somewhere in Europe where that is the typical system
frequency.

figure 13. Change the system base frequency to 60Hz.

3.1.2 Simulate the Basecase

6. To complete a Power Flow Analysis of the system press the “Power Flow” button
in the PSAT main window, the status of the simulation gets logged in the Matlab
Command Window.

figure 14. Complete a Power Flow Analysis of the System.

7. Press the button shown below to view the Static Report of the Power Flow
Analysis results.

figure 15. Open the Static Report of the Power Flow Analysis.

8. An example of the Static Report results are shown below.

Note: In the upper parameter boxes the highlighted entries indicate the values of
the selected bus.

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Note: You can change the units displayed in the boxes by clicking on the unit
displayed at the top of each box.

Note: For Active and Reactive Power you can also select where to display the
following

o G - The generated power on the bus.

o L - The comsumed power on the bus.
o I - Shows both: generated as a positive number and consumed as a
negative number.

Note: You can click on the icon to open up a bargraph plot to compare the results
of each bus.

Note: You can generate/save a Static Report by pressing on the Report button.
The report output format and other options can be configured by selecting what
you want under the Preferences Menu.

figure 16. An example Static Report.

3.1.3 Basecase results

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9. Compare your Power Flow Analysis results in the Static Report with the reference
results shown below.

Table 1. Reference Power Flow results for the Base Case.

POWER FLOW RESULTS
Bus # Voltage (pu) phase (°) P_gen (pu) Q_gen (pu) P_Load (pu) Q_Load (pu)
1 1.02500 9.28000 1.63 0.06654 — —
2 1.04000 0.00000 0.71641 0.27046 — —
3 1.02500 4.66480 0.85 -0.1086 — —
4 1.02580 3.71970 — — — —
5 1.01590 0.72754 — — 1 0.35
6 1.01270 -3.68740 — — 0.9 0.3
7 1.02580 -2.21680 — — — —
8 0.99563 -3.98880 — — 1.25 0.5
9 1.03240 1.96670 — — — —

10. Change the Report output format to Excel by going to Preferences/Select

Test Viewer and selecting Excel and clicking on OK. Generate the Report and
Save it with an appropriate name. Have a look at the report to see what is
included.

3.2 Transient Stability Analysis

Transient stability examines the impact of disturbances on power systems considering the
operating conditions. The analysis of the dynamic behavior of power systems for the
transient stability gives information about the ability of a power system to sustain
synchronism during and after a disturbance.

In this task, a fault will be placed on one of the buses to demonstrate how the system
behaves. A system can recover if a fault is cleared quickly enough before the whole
system collapses.

11. Add a fault to bus 4 by doing the following.

a. With the Simulink model of the system open also open the PSAT simulink
library by clicking on the appropriate button in the PSAT main window.

figure 17. PSAT Simulink library button.

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b. In the base case Simulink model, double click on bus 4 (the thick black
line) to open the Block Parameter window for Bus 4. Change the Number
of outputs: from 2 to 3. You will then see another output appear on the
bus 4 in the Simulink model.

figure 18. Adding a new output on bus 4.

c. From the PSAT Simulink library, either drag and drop or copy and paste a
Fault (from the Faults and Breakers library) to your base case some
where near bus 4.

figure 19: Faults and Breakers catalogue of the PSAT Simulink library.

d. Wire the newly added Fault to the new output your created on bus 4.

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figure 20: Connect the new Fault to bus 4.

e. Double click the fault and setup the following parameters:

 Power, voltage and frequency: [100 230 60]
 Fault time: 1.0
 Fault clearing time: 1.15

Note: The duration of the fault will be the Fault clearing time minus
the Fault time as both of the times above are the times in the simulation
that the events occur.

f. Save this new case with a new appropriate name making sure to save it as
an .mdl file so it can be loaded into PSAT.
12. Load the new .mdl Data File you just created by clicking on the Open Data File
button in the PSAT main window. Make sure to adjust the file type Filter so
.mdl files can be seen.
13. In the PSAT main window check the selection of Convert PQ bus to Z to
increase the simulation’s stability.

figure 21: Convert PQ bus to Z.

14. Run a Time Domain simulation in PSAT by clicking on the button shown below.
The Time Domain solution requires an initial Power Flow solution before it is run
and it will do it automatically if a current solution is not available.

figure 22: Run a Time Domain simulation.

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15. Using the PSAT Plot tool, plot the following and save the resulting graphs
using a screen capture tool like Snip & Sketch to save the plot as an image file
to include in your Postlab.

Note: The first 3 plots below have a fault clearing time of 0.15s.

Note: You can change the length of the simulation from the PSAT main window
as shown below.

figure 24. Simulation End Time.

Note: You can examine the resulting waveforms in more detail by using the plots
zoom controls.

a. Power Angle at Generator Buses: Select the power angle (δ) of the 3
synchronous generators (ie. delta_Syn_1) to plot them against time. Use
delta_Syn_1 as reference angle by selecting it in the appropriate box.
Click on the Plot button to generate the graph in the available space. Use
the default simulation end time of 20 seconds.

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figure 23. Select the parameters that you would like to plot. The power angles of
the 3 generators shown.

b. Voltage at Generator Buses: Select the bus voltages that the 3

synchronous generators are attached to (ie. V_Bus 1) to plot them against
time. Click on the Plot button to generate the graph in the available space.
Change the simulation end time to 3 seconds (or use the Zoom tool) so
what is occuring to the voltages during the fault can be seen.
c. Power at Generator Buses: Select the 3 synchronous generator power
quantities (ie. p_Syn_1) to plot them against time. Click on the Plot
button to generate the graph in the available space. Change the simulation
end time back to 20 seconds.
d. Unstable - Power Angle at Generator Buses: The longest fault time
duration that the system can recover from and remain stable is named as
critical fault clearing time. Run the simulation while increasing the fault
duration by 0.01 second increments to find the critical fault clearing time
for bus 4. Record the critical fault clearing time in the appropriate places
in the results table and plot the power angle (δ) of the 3 generators when
the system goes unstable.

Sign-off

Once you are satisfied that you have collected all of the required plots in an image format
for your lab report, show them to a lab instructor or TA for them to sign on your sign-off
sheet in the appropriate place.

3.2.1 Postlab Questions

Q1. Is the system stable? Explain why.

Q2. Explain what is occurring in the generator plots for both the voltage and the power,
that you obtained, when a fault is applied to bus 4 between 1.0 to 1.15 seconds of the
simulation.

3.3 Impact of Fault Location

The amount of time a fault is sustained before the system collapses can vary depending
on where in the system the fault occurs. Therefore the system’s critical fault clearing time
should be different if a fault occurs in a different location (ie. on a different bus).

16. Using a similar procedure as the previous section to complete the table below,
determine the systems critical fault clearing time when a single fault occurs at
each of the 9 buses. Record your results in the table provided on your results
sheet.

Note: You already completed bus 4 in the previous section.

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Table 3. The systems critical fault clearing time for a fault occuring at each bus
separately.
CRITICAL FAULT CLEARING TIME
Bus # Bus Voltage (kV) Critical fault clearing time (s)
1 18.0
2 16.5
3 13.8
4 230.0
5 230.0
6 230.0
7 230.0
8 230.0
9 230.0

Note

It is important that the fault voltage rating matches the voltage rating of the bus.

figure 25. The rated bus voltage.

figure 26. The rated fault voltage.

Sign-off

Once you are satisfied that you have collected all of the critical fault clearing times
required for your lab report get a lab instructor or TA to check your results, and if
everything is alright they will sign your sign-off sheet.

3.3.1 Postlab Questions

Q3. Which fault location is most susceptible to cause a system transient that will lead to
an unstable system? What are the potential reasons for that?

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Q4. Explain why doing a fault location scan, like was completed in the lab, could be
useful.

3.4 Impact of Line Tripping

If a circuit breaker protecting a transmission line trips either before or during a fault event
the critical fault clearing time will be effected.

For this case, we will start with the same case that we used in the Transient Stability
Analysis where we had a fault on bus 4. However for this new case we will add a
breaker in the line from bus 7 to bus 8 that will open before the fault occurs and then
close again after the fault transient has subsided. The goal of this task is to see how a
change in the system effects the critical fault clearing time.

17. Add a Breaker to the line from bus 7 to bus 8 by doing the following.
a. Open the .mdl file that you saved in the Transient Stability
Analyses section where you just added a fault on bus 4 into Simulink. As
this is the case we want to compare to.
b. Open the PSAT Simulink library and copy a Breaker from the Faults &
Breakers catalogue someone near either bus 7 or bus 8 in your base case.

figure 27. A Breaker in the Faults and Breaker catalogue of the PSAT Simulink
library.

c. Delete the wire connecting the bus to the line element and place the new
Breaker in series with the line by wiring the breaker to both the line
element and the appropriate bus.

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figure 28. A breaker inserted in series with the line that connects bus 7 to bus 8.

d. Double click on the Breaker element and the Block Parameters for the
Breaker will open. Set the parameters as shown below.

figure 29. The breakers parameter settings.

e. Save the new case with a new appropriate name as a .mdl file.
18. Load the newly saved file into PSAT using the PSAT command window.
19. Like you did in the previous sections, determine the system’s new critical fault
clearing time when the newly added Breaker is open. Record your results in the
table provided on your results sheet.

Sign-off

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Once you are satisfied that you have the correct critical fault clearing time for your lab
report get a lab instructor or TA to check your results, and if everything is alright they
will sign your sign-off sheet.

3.4.1 Postlab Questions

Q5. How does a line being removed from the system effect the systems transient
stability? Explain.

3.5 Impact of Inertia

The inertia of a generator will effect how fast the power angle changes when a transient
occurs which means that it will either take longer or shorter for that generator to reach the
point of instability depending if the inertia is increased or decreased.

For this case, we will again start with the same case that we used in the Transient
Stability Analysis where we had a fault on bus 4. However for this new case we will
increase the inertia of all three of the generators of the system to demonstrate its effect on
the critical fault clearing time.

20. For this test we are going to double the inertia of all three of the generators in the
system. Follow the steps below to change the inertia of a generator.
a. Start again by reopening the .mdl file that you saved in the Transient
Stability Analyses section where you just added a fault on bus 4 into
Simulink. As this is the case that we want to compare to.
b. Double click the generator to open the Block Parameter window. Double
the Inertia value that is shown below.

Note: You can use math in the parameters so you can simply add a 2*
infront of the inertia parameter to double it.

21.
22. figure 30. Setting the Inertia of a generator.

c. Modify all 3 generators so that their inertia is doubled.

d. Save the new case with a new appropriate name as a .mdl file.
23. Load the newly saved file into PSAT using the PSAT command window.
24. Like you did in the previous sections, determine the systems new critical fault
clearing time when the systems generators inertia are all doubled. Record your
results in the table provided on your results sheet.

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Sign-off

Once you are satisfied that you have the correct critical fault clearing time for your lab
report get a lab instructor or TA to check your results, and if everything is alright they
will sign your sign-off sheet.

3.5.1 Postlab Questions

Q6. How does the inertia of all of the generators in the system effect the systems transient
stability? Explain.

4 Postlab
Submit the following on eClass using the Submit (Lab 4 - Results) link before the
postlab due date. Every student needs to hand-in their own results. Please merge all the
following into a single pdf document in the following order:

 Use a scanned/picture copy of the ECE433 - Lab 4 - Sign-off sheet as your

cover sheet converted to pdf. Make sure your name, student ID, CCID and lab
section are visible in the table at the top of the page and make sure that you have
obtained the required signatures from your lab instructor or TA during your lab
session.
 A pdf of the completed ECE433 - Lab 4 - Postlab sheet including the required
plots, completed tables and answers to the postlab questions.

PDFsam Basic is a free and open source software that can be used for the pdf merge:
https://pdfsam.org/download-pdfsam-basic/

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