Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijepes

Radial distribution system power ow using interval arithmetic

Biswarup Das*
Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247 667, Uttaranchal, India
Received 10 October 2000; revised 5 July 2001; accepted 13 November 2001

Abstract
This paper reports on the application of interval arithmetic technique for balanced radial distribution system power ow analysis. Interval
arithmetic takes care of the uncertainty in the input parameters and provides strict bounds for the solution of the problem. In this paper,
uncertainties only in the input load parameters are considered. The results are compared with the results obtained from repeated load-ow
simulations. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Interval arithmetic; Radial distribution system; Power ow

1. Introduction
One of the most fundamental and widely used analysis
tool to study radial distribution system is power ow analysis. Power ow analysis essentially gives the steady-state
operating point of a distribution system corresponding to a
specied, xed loading condition. As the distribution
network is known to be an ill-conditioned power system
due to their radial structure and wide ranging resistance
and reactance values, popularly used NewtonRaphson
and Fast Decoupled load ow algorithms cannot be used
to analyse the distribution system [1]. Consequently, many
load ow algorithms specially suited for distribution system
analysis have been proposed in Refs. [17]. In all the above
algorithms, the input parameters (loads at different buses
and feeder resistance and reactance) are assumed to be
known, xed quantities.
However, in reality, the situation is quite different. The
input parameters for the load ow study are quite uncertain.
These uncertainties stem from two facts [8],
Error in the calculation or measurement of the feeder
parameters (resistance and reactance) and
Errors in the assumed load demand at different buses.
Even if, for the time being, it is assumed that there is no
error in the input parameters, the load ow study essentially
gives a `snapshot' of the state of the distribution system at a
particular time instant. In practice, the load demand in a
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: biswafee@rurkiu.ernet.in (B. Das),
bisdas1@rediffmail.com (B. Das), biswafee@yahoo.com (B. Das).

system changes over time. In any particular period, the

load demand varies over a certain range or an `interval'.
Hence, instead of having the `snapshot' of the system at a
particular instant, it would be more appropriate to nd out
the system conditions, when the load demand is varying
over an interval.
Load ow analysis of a distribution system, when the load
demand is varying over an interval, can be performed by
repeated simulations or by the use of interval arithmetic. In
Ref. [8], Wang and Alvarado rst proposed the application
of interval arithmetic method for power ow analysis of
transmission networks. They also compared their results
with the results obtained from Monte-Carlo Simulation
method and Stochastic load ow study. In their study,
they have taken a small 5-bus system for illustration.
This paper proposes to apply the interval arithmetic
method for power ow solution of a balanced radial distribution system. In this study, the load demands in the system
at different buses are assumed to vary over intervals. The
load ow algorithm chosen is essentially a backward sweep/
forward sweep algorithm. However, the real arithmetic
calculations in the algorithm have been replaced by
complex interval arithmetic calculations.
The paper is organised as follows. In Section 2, basic
concepts of interval arithmetic method are presented.
Fundamental relations of complex interval arithmetic calculations are also presented in this section. Section 3 gives the
detail algorithm for power ow analysis of radial distribution system using interval arithmetic. Numerical results
obtained for two different balanced power distribution
systems are given in Section 4. Lastly, Section 5 concludes
the paper.

0142-0615/02/$ - see front matter q 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0142-061 5(01)00092-8

828

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

Fig. 1. A sample radial distribution system.

2. Interval arithmetic

2.1. Complex interval number

In this section, the basic concepts of interval arithmetic

used in this paper are described.
An interval number X x1 ; x2 is the set of real numbers
x such that x1 # x # x2 : x1 and x2 are known as the lower
limit and upper limit of the interval number, respectively. A
rational number k is represented as an interval number K
k; k:
Let X x1 ; x2 and Y y1 ; y2 be the two interval
numbers. Then addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division of these two interval numbers are dened as
below [9]:

Any complex number Z X 1 iY; where i is the

complex operator, is said to be a complex interval number
if both its real part (X) and the imaginary part (Y) are interval
numbers. Hence, X can be represented as X x1 ; x2 and Y
can be represented as Y y1 ; y2 , where, x1 ; y1 are the
lower limits and x2 ; y2 are the upper limits, respectively.
The conjugate of a complex interval number is given by
Z p X 2 iY: Let Z1 A1 1 iB1 and Z2 A2 1 iB2 be
two complex interval numbers. Then the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of these two complex interval numbers are dened as [9];
Z1 1 Z2 A1 1 A2 1 iB1 1 B2
7

X 1 Y x1 1 y1 ; x2 1 y2

X 2 Y x1 2 y2 ; x2 2 y1

X p Y minx1 p y1 ; x1 p y2 ; x2 p y1 ; x2 p y2 ;
maxx1 p y1 ; x1 p y2 ; x2 p y1 ; x2 p y2
X 4 Y X p Y 21

if 0 y1 ; y2

Also, the distance between these two interval numbers is

dened as [9]:
qX; Y maxux1 2 y1 u; ux2 2 y2 u

Z1 p Z2 A1 p A2 2 B1 p B2 1 iA1 p B2 1 A2 p B1

Z1 4 Z2 C 1 iD

where,
Y 21 1=y2 ; 1=y1

Z1 2 Z2 A1 2 A2 1 iB1 2 B2

However, for the purpose of power ow analysis, calculations involving complex numbers, rather than real numbers
are needed. Hence, in the next sub-section, basic relations
involving complex interval numbers are described.

10
A22

B22

1
and D A2 p
where C A1 p A2 1 B1 p B2 4
B1 2 A1 p B2 4 A22 1 B22
It is to be noted that, Eqs. (7)(10) can be evaluated by
applying the fundamental operations as dened in Eqs. (1)
(4). The detail expressions corresponding to the operations
dened in Eqs. (7)(10) are given in Appendix A.
3. Interval power ow analysis
The basic power ow analysis method used in this work is
essentially the backward/forward sweep power ow algorithm of Ref. [2]. However, to account for the uncertainty of
the load demands, the real and reactive power loads have
been treated as interval numbers rather than xed numbers
and consequently, the complex arithmetic in Ref. [2] has
been replaced by complex interval arithmetic in this
paper. For illustration of this method, consider Fig. 1,

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

829

Table 1
System bus voltages for 30-bus system
Bus no.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

22.305115
22.131584
21.778206
21.371508
21.014359
20.495497
20.125292
19.755087
19.513853
19.289263
19.064672
18.870001
18.733940
18.668184
19.666334
19.578152
19.537064
20.405186
20.339262
20.298429
20.483656
21.640835
21.517975
21.386509
21.255043
21.182953
21.120855
22.270918
22.139614
22.073858

22.329100
22.161894
21.825098
21.442585
21.108255
20.620613
20.273968
19.927322
19.702114
19.491880
19.281647
19.099005
18.971340
18.909714
19.844080
19.761032
19.722424
20.534874
20.472155
20.433352
20.609833
21.691202
21.571283
21.443562
21.315840
21.246099
21.185707
22.295435
22.166658
22.102175

0.103207
0.150731
20.019731
20.183956
20.327610
20.425005
20.493815
20.562624
20.607179
20.648312
20.689445
20.724842
20.749505
20.761430
20.598372
20.614919
20.622656
20.461704
20.488423
20.496206
20.429990
20.086912
20.146858
20.200793
20.254727
20.284326
20.296192
0.112121
0.085169
0.071689

0.123398
0.175947
0.022043
20.118453
20.239724
20.308215
20.355334
20.402454
20.432308
20.460339
20.488370
20.512839
20.529886
20.538063
20.432793
20.444582
20.450015
20.340416
20.363986
20.369865
20.312148
20.041668
20.098678
20.148918
20.199159
20.226437
20.236688
0.132791
0.108283
0.096032

22.310659
22.138678
21.789221
21.388634
21.037325
20.526560
20.162920
19.799280
19.562712
19.342524
19.122335
18.931520
18.798197
18.733778
19.711897
19.625029
19.584558
20.437229
20.372026
20.331625
20.514843
21.652473
21.530180
21.399355
21.268530
21.196802
21.135002
22.276516
22.145464
22.079838

22.323751
22.155048
21.814493
21.426138
21.086231
20.590841
20.237925
19.885008
19.655346
19.440905
19.226463
19.040131
18.909847
18.846941
19.800455
19.716148
19.676949
20.504158
20.440744
20.401525
20.579943
21.679989
21.559515
21.431168
21.302820
21.232727
21.172043
22.290035
22.161011
22.096401

0.108425
0.157312
20.008457
20.165569
20.302431
20.391089
20.452843
20.514597
20.554158
20.590575
20.626992
20.658254
20.679983
20.690476
20.548744
20.563863
20.570929
20.426629
20.452494
20.459802
20.395930
20.074874
20.134124
20.187282
20.240440
20.269601
20.281127
0.117390
0.090719
0.077384

0.118029
0.169162
0.010571
20.137050
20.265123
20.342452
20.396706
20.450961
20.485863
20.518655
20.551448
20.580087
20.600092
20.609713
20.482905
20.496138
20.502251
20.375816
20.400242
20.406601
20.346531
20.053903
20.111607
20.162624
20.213642
20.241359
20.251952
0.127371
0.102583
0.090188

which shows a typical radial distribution system network with

n buses and b n 2 1 branches. The root node or the substation node is supplied with a sinusoidal voltage source. For
the purpose of power ow analysis, the branch and node
numbering scheme of Ref. [2] has been adopted in this
work. In this scheme, the branches in the network have been
divided into several layers. Starting from the layer closest to
the root node, the branches in the layers are numbered away
sequentially [2]. The node of a branch L closest to the root
node is denoted by L1 and the other node is denoted by L2
(refer Fig. 1).
For the power ow solution of the network, the voltage at
the root node is assumed to be known and a at voltage
prole, equal to the voltage of the root node, has been
assumed for the initial voltages at the other nodes. Hence,
in per unit system, the voltage at the root node and the initial
voltages at the other nodes is assumed to be 1:0; 1:0 1
i0:0; 0:0 p.u. With these initial voltages, the following
steps are followed for the iterative solution of the system:
Iik

Step 1: At iteration k, the nodal current injection

at
node i is calculated as,

p
Iik Si =Vik21
11

where, Vik21 is the calculated voltage at node i during

iteration k 2 1 and Si is the specied power at node i
expressed as an interval number Si Pil ; Pih 1
iQil ; Qih where Pil ; Pih are the lower and higher limits
of the real power and Qil ; Qih are the lower and higher
limits of the reactive power, respectively. As Si and
Vik21 are both interval quantities, Eq. (11) is evaluated
using Eq. (10) and consequently, the quantity Iik is also a
complex interval quantity.
Step 2: This step is known as the backward sweep. At
iteration k, starting with the branches in the last layer
and moving towards the branches connected directly
to the root node the current in branch L, JL is given
as,
JLk
k
2IL2
1

currents in the branches emanating from node L2

12
As the currents at the right hand side of Eq. (12) are
all interval quantities, Eq. (12) is evaluated with the
help of Eq. (7).

830

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

Table 2
Real and reactive power ow in the feeders in 30-bus system
Bus i

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
0
13
8
15
16
6
18
19
6
3
22
23
24
25
26
1
28
29

Bus j

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

13.088741
12.459777
7.373977
6.329439
6.236387
4.322068
4.247806
2.708405
2.497466
2.470173
2.121172
1.467833
16.252314
0.703654
1.465139
0.997815
0.461965
1.568929
1.142559
0.482938
0.198955
4.918716
4.378473
2.456736
2.443696
1.327271
0.783317
2.640093
1.760975
0.876776

13.611905
12.971487
7.777717
6.714860
6.627478
4.621774
4.550611
2.916010
2.687126
2.660957
2.284012
1.582311
16.812000
0.759873
1.563438
1.065186
0.494269
1.649700
1.200074
0.509121
0.215412
5.030059
4.474676
2.520961
2.508287
1.366892
0.805064
2.685106
1.791370
0.892123

4.587038
4.411862
2.586568
2.177592
2.095233
1.440043
1.396891
0.884157
0.811144
0.795265
0.679171
0.467222
5.551222
0.222791
0.469580
0.318052
0.146579
0.508495
0.368980
0.154773
0.061814
1.659303
1.466276
0.819219
0.807815
0.434741
0.256113
0.869127
0.581410
0.288599

4.992582
4.807722
2.895242
2.474601
2.399785
1.671480
1.632538
1.045023
0.957082
0.942779
0.804407
0.555275
5.985817
0.266203
0.548573
0.372141
0.172679
0.574707
0.415829
0.176403
0.076491
1.750906
1.544703
0.872808
0.861852
0.468498
0.274369
0.909114
0.608330
0.302175

13.227993
12.600798
7.490865
6.445140
6.357395
4.422153
4.351414
2.782419
2.568497
2.542410
2.185350
1.513720
16.383783
0.726171
1.498255
1.020850
0.472843
1.593617
1.160896
0.490856
0.202085
4.947990
4.405524
2.473139
2.460488
1.336856
0.789091
2.647303
1.765957
0.879394

13.467769
12.825659
7.656181
6.594089
6.501154
4.517091
4.442243
2.838460
2.612805
2.585377
2.216955
1.534370
16.675392
0.736331
1.528934
1.041188
0.482920
1.624171
1.181133
0.500921
0.212101
5.000340
4.447158
2.504231
2.491159
1.357093
0.799172
2.677787
1.786312
0.889467

4.675687
4.500760
2.661838
2.255109
2.178840
1.510043
1.470194
0.936902
0.862044
0.847347
0.725664
0.500603
5.637630
0.239223
0.493438
0.334731
0.154474
0.526110
0.382132
0.160481
0.064075
1.678804
1.484617
0.830442
0.819443
0.441454
0.260178
0.873973
0.584741
0.290350

4.898856
4.713668
2.815496
2.393237
2.312458
1.598551
1.556388
0.990302
0.904470
0.889019
0.756572
0.520973
5.894689
0.249316
0.523922
0.354924
0.164519
0.556564
0.402314
0.170519
0.074088
1.730940
1.526052
0.861355
0.849993
0.461634
0.270224
0.904176
0.604937
0.300390

Step 3: This step is the forward sweep. In this step,

starting from the root node and moving towards the
nodes of the branches connected in the last layer, the
node voltages are updated from the latest updated
voltages of the respective previous nodes. For example, voltage at node L2 of branch L is updated from
the knowledge of updated voltage of node L1 as
follows:
k
k
VL2
VL1
2 ZL JLk

13

where, ZL is the impedance of branch L. The multiplication and subtraction of the complex interval numbers are
carried out with the help of Eqs. (9) and (8), respectively.
Step 4: At any node m, the distance between Vmk and
Vmk21 , henceforth denoted by dm ; is calculated at iteration
k. As Vmk and Vmk21 are both complex interval numbers,
they can be expressed as Vmk A1 1 jA2 and Vmk21
B1 1 jB2 ; where A1 ; A2 ; B1 ; B2 are all interval numbers
and dm is calculated as dm maxqA1 ; B1 ; qA2 ; B2 ;
where, qA1 ; B1 and qA2 ; B2 are evaluated using Eq.
(6). If maxdm ; for m 1; 2; ; n; is less than specied
tolerance limit, the load-ow is converged, otherwise the
algorithm goes back to Step 1.

4. Numerical results
To illustrate the application of interval arithmetic in
distribution system power ow analysis, two different
systems have been chosen:
(i) 30-bus balanced radial distribution system,
(ii) 68-bus balanced radial distribution system.
4.1. 30-Bus radial distribution system [1]
The data for this test system are given in Table B1 in
Appendix B. The loading pattern given in Table B1 is termed
as `base operating condition'. As already discussed in Section
1, the uncertainties in load demand have been taken into
account by assuming that the load demands vary over a
certain range. In this work, the load demand at any bus k is
assumed to vary over a range Lbk 2 5; Lbk 1 5; where Lbk is
the base load demand at that node as given in Table B1. For
example, the base real and reactive power load demand at bus
2 is 522 kW and 174 kVAR, respectively (refer Table B1).
Consequently, the real power load demand at that bus is
assumed to vary over an interval [517,527] kW and the reactive power load demand is assumed to vary over an interval

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

831

Table 3
System bus voltages for 68-bus system
Bus no.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

12.659546
12.659092
12.657854
12.646845
12.525622
12.400088
12.370180
12.354973
12.284821
12.271653
12.223799
12.177392
12.132079
12.087928
12.079722
12.066035
12.065893
12.058233
12.053309
12.045899
12.045771
12.044570
12.041957
12.038919
12.037666
12.037315
12.658967
12.657607
12.655238
12.654820
12.652730
12.647717
12.640784
12.638453
12.657205
12.641055
12.591424
12.584383
12.658852
12.369543
12.367785
12.318077
12.275404
12.216676
12.159471
11.864918
11.719741
11.663544
11.597630
11.500791
11.496853
11.491649
11.466144
11.458018
12.270711
12.270700
12.218751
12.218735
12.655820
12.653028

12.659623
12.659246
12.658188
12.648970
12.546036
12.439082
12.413553
12.400496
12.348619
12.338438
12.302988
12.270651
12.238426
12.206336
12.200373
12.190477
12.190377
12.185162
12.181808
12.176553
12.176490
12.175857
12.174478
12.173190
12.172659
12.172510
12.659182
12.658522
12.657413
12.657218
12.656240
12.653897
12.650577
12.649803
12.657568
12.642133
12.594140
12.587332
12.659102
12.413150
12.412575
12.366575
12.327120
12.272532
12.219067
11.943364
11.807478
11.754875
11.692880
11.601943
11.598524
11.593881
11.571124
11.564651
12.337938
12.337933
12.299657
12.299646
12.657297
12.655594

20.000320
20.000640
20.001516
20.005563
20.004348
20.003003
20.002700
20.002548
20.004621
0.000647
0.006821
0.011255
0.015756
0.020343
0.021194
0.022594
0.022608
0.023467
0.024020
0.024927
0.024926
0.024921
0.024908
0.024688
0.024597
0.024572
20.000727
20.001675
20.001694
20.001697
20.001713
20.001772
20.001676
20.001675
20.001931
20.012184
20.043542
20.047989
20.000807
20.002724
20.003949
0.000715
0.004563
0.010010
0.015462
0.087797
0.123459
0.137525
0.155914
0.165351
0.165576
0.165943
0.167735
0.167859
0.000671
0.000672
0.007249
0.007250
20.002916
20.003997

20.000242
20.000484
20.001178
20.003429
0.015862
0.035568
0.040197
0.042472
0.058496
0.066692
0.085142
0.103502
0.120946
0.137448
0.140513
0.145660
0.145715
0.148998
0.151108
0.154148
0.154213
0.154772
0.155987
0.157509
0.158138
0.158314
20.000511
20.000759
0.000483
0.000702
0.001798
0.004408
0.008115
0.009674
20.001565
20.011102
20.040820
20.045033
20.000555
0.040406
0.040365
0.048639
0.055623
0.065097
0.074176
0.164501
0.209029
0.226523
0.248624
0.263770
0.264506
0.265423
0.269912
0.271672
0.067158
0.067163
0.087277
0.087284
20.001436
20.001428

12.659552
12.659103
12.657880
12.647026
12.527369
12.403462
12.373946
12.358944
12.289701
12.276680
12.229448
12.183729
12.139093
12.095606
12.087524
12.074045
12.073906
12.066365
12.061518
12.054223
12.054096
12.052915
12.050343
12.047354
12.046121
12.045775
12.658978
12.657619
12.655253
12.654836
12.652748
12.647740
12.640816
12.638488
12.657231
12.641088
12.591475
12.584436
12.658863
12.373312
12.371564
12.322548
12.280456
12.222533
12.166121
11.875523
11.732295
11.676852
11.611823
11.516333
11.512453
11.507325
11.482194
11.474194
12.275745
12.275735
12.224448
12.224432
12.655834
12.653045

12.659619
12.659239
12.658166
12.648808
12.544473
12.436062
12.410182
12.396941
12.344340
12.334049
12.298116
12.265262
12.232521
12.199919
12.193860
12.183805
12.183703
12.178400
12.174991
12.169648
12.169584
12.168940
12.167536
12.166223
12.165681
12.165529
12.659174
12.658513
12.657404
12.657208
12.656230
12.653884
12.650558
12.649783
12.657545
12.642104
12.594093
12.587282
12.659095
12.409776
12.409194
12.362551
12.322549
12.267200
12.212986
11.933553
11.795828
11.742514
11.679681
11.587465
11.583995
11.579282
11.556185
11.549606
12.333546
12.333540
12.294750
12.294740
12.657288
12.655582

20.000313
20.000627
20.001483
20.005323
20.002054
0.001428
0.002245
0.002667
0.001801
0.007262
0.014268
0.019606
0.025002
0.030469
0.031484
0.033159
0.033176
0.034193
0.034847
0.035908
0.035910
0.035927
0.035964
0.035798
0.035729
0.035710
20.000714
20.001660
20.001675
20.001678
20.001692
20.001744
20.001638
20.001633
20.001897
20.012140
20.043466
20.047907
20.000794
0.002226
0.001014
0.006582
0.011188
0.017687
0.024173
0.101643
0.139835
0.154879
0.174418
0.185619
0.185917
0.186381
0.188650
0.188926
0.007295
0.007295
0.014757
0.014758
20.002898
20.003976

20.000248
20.000497
20.001210
20.003662
0.013565
0.031122
0.035234
0.037239
0.052015
0.059997
0.077585
0.095004
0.111519
0.127106
0.130002
0.134863
0.134915
0.138033
0.140038
0.142918
0.142980
0.143514
0.144677
0.146140
0.146744
0.146913
20.000524
20.000773
0.000466
0.000684
0.001777
0.004380
0.008076
0.009630
20.001596
20.011144
20.040894
20.045113
20.000568
0.035440
0.035389
0.042752
0.048975
0.057392
0.065433
0.150567
0.192537
0.209041
0.229979
0.243354
0.244017
0.244836
0.248846
0.250453
0.060454
0.060459
0.079657
0.079663
20.001453
20.001449

832

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

Table 3 (continued)
Bus no.

61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

Vrll

Vrul

Vill

Viul

12.652222
12.652182
12.639166
12.634423
12.633797
12.633676
12.632241
12.632236

12.655102
12.655077
12.647095
12.643962
12.643548
12.643460
12.642420
12.642415

20.004309
20.004324
20.009284
20.011088
20.011326
20.011376
20.011972
20.011975

20.001426
20.001426
20.001352
20.001546
20.001572
20.001589
20.001790
20.001791

12.652240
12.652200
12.639199
12.634462
12.633837
12.633716
12.632283
12.632277

12.655090
12.655066
12.647071
12.643933
12.643518
12.643431
12.642388
12.642384

20.004287
20.004302
20.009240
20.011036
20.011272
20.011322
20.011915
20.011918

20.001447
20.001447
20.001396
20.001600
20.001626
20.001643
20.001848
20.001849

[169,179] kVAR. The intervals of variation of load demands

at other buses have been decided similarly.
When the load demands in a system vary within some
intervals, the bus voltages and other quantities (e.g. feeder
power ow etc.) in that system also vary within certain
intervals. The intervals of variation of bus voltages in the
sample 30-bus system have been calculated using the load
ow algorithm described in Section 3. In this work, the
voltage error tolerance limit has been kept at 0.0001 p.u.
and the algorithm took eight iterations to converge. The
results are shown in Table 1 and Table 2. In Table 1, the
intervals of variation of both real and imaginary parts of
the complex bus voltages (in kV) are given. In this table,
the symbols Vrll, Vrul, Vill and Viul denote the lower limit of the
real part, upper limit of the real part, lower limit of the
imaginary part and upper limit of the imaginary part, respectively. In Table 2, the intervals of variation of both real
power ow (in MW) and reactive power ow (in MVAR)
in the feeders are given. In this table, the symbols Pll, Pul, Qll
and Qul denote the lower limit of the real power, upper limit
of the real power, lower limit of the reactive power and
upper limit of the reactive power ow, respectively.
The intervals of variation of the bus voltages and the real
and reactive power ow in the feeders of the sample system
have also been calculated by repeated load ow simulations.
In this method, the load demands at any bus have been xed
at any arbitrary value within the pre-decided, corresponding
interval. For example, the real power load demand at bus 2
may be xed at 520 kW. Similarly, all the real and reactive
load demand at all the other buses have been arbitrarily xed
at any value within their corresponding, pre-decided intervals. Thus, an operating point other than the `base operating
point' is obtained and the system bus voltages are calculated
using the load ow algorithm given in Ref. [2]. Similarly, by
xing the bus load demands at other values within their predecided, corresponding intervals, a large number of different
operating points of the system can be obtained and the corresponding system bus voltages can be calculated. Theoretically, by this method, innite number of operating points
can be generated. As it is not possible to perform load ow
simulations for innite number of operating points, in this
work a very large number of operating points, 5 millions to

be exact, have been generated and the corresponding bus

voltages have been calculated. The minimum and maximum
values of the real and imaginary parts of the complex bus
voltages have been determined from the results of these 5
million load ow simulations and these constitute the intervals of the variations of the bus voltages obtained from
repeated load ow simulations. These results are also
shown in Table 1. Similarly, the minimum and maximum
values of the real and reactive power ow in the feeders
have been determined from the results of these 5 million
load ow simulations. These constitute the intervals of the
variations of the real and reactive power ow in the feeders
obtained from repeated load ow simulations. These results
are shown in Table 2. It has also been found that, even by
further increasing the number of operating points, the intervals of variations of the bus voltages and the power ow (real
and reactive) in the feeders do not change.
From the entries in Tables 1 and 2, an interesting observation can be made. The intervals depicted by the repeated
load-ow method are always contained within the intervals
depicted by the interval arithmetic method. In other words,
the solutions given by the interval arithmetic method
contain all the solutions obtained by the repeated loadow method. In fact, the interval arithmetic method
suggests a slightly wider range of intervals than the repeated
load-ow method. It can also be observed from the above
two tables that the intervals obtained from these two
methods are also quite close to each other. In all of the
cases, the difference in the values suggested by these two
methods starts after the decimal point.
4.2. 68-Bus radial distribution system [10]
The data for this test system are given in Table B2 in
Appendix B. As before, the loading pattern given in Table
B2 is termed as `base operating condition'. Similarly, the
load demand at any bus k is assumed to vary over a range
Lbk 2 5; Lbk 1 5; where Lbk is the base load demand at that
node as given in Table B2. For this system also, the voltage
error tolerance limit has been kept at 0.0001 p.u. and the
algorithm took seven iterations to converge. The results are
shown in Tables 3 and 4. In Table 3, the intervals of

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

833

Table 4
Real and reactive power ow in the feeders in 68-bus system
Bus i

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
2
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
3
35
36
37
7
40
8
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
10
55
11
57
2
39
59

Bus j

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
39
59
60

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

3.787781
3.787691
3.558674
2.722543
2.720468
2.686417
2.621622
2.505691
0.692719
0.665524
0.501025
0.315757
0.309264
0.302896
0.301388
0.262266
0.208411
0.154962
0.154816
0.150007
0.044168
0.039458
0.039452
0.017234
0.017226
0.008611
0.070987
0.049987
0.028988
0.028980
0.028978
0.028969
0.019963
0.004980
0.835906
0.835881
0.761291
0.379841
0.039554
0.004911
1.784825
1.773906
1.746267
1.718161
1.709137
1.658136
1.632997
1.530438
1.519506
0.295825
0.269573
0.269431
0.052461
0.025524
0.012760
0.045082
0.022527
0.157941
0.136940
0.115922

4.373429
4.373374
4.013768
3.146796
3.145161
3.104304
3.032238
2.884609
0.905948
0.868771
0.668912
0.446938
0.430336
0.413726
0.412570
0.360985
0.293894
0.227113
0.227008
0.211440
0.088791
0.073279
0.073276
0.039241
0.039237
0.019618
0.121161
0.090159
0.059153
0.059148
0.059147
0.059142
0.040106
0.015041
0.866822
0.866800
0.782223
0.390396
0.060595
0.015161
1.940249
1.919417
1.881551
1.843318
1.834760
1.786389
1.762547
1.645921
1.635512
0.342693
0.304538
0.304410
0.065821
0.046703
0.023350
0.067235
0.033608
0.238391
0.207388
0.176374

2.392369
2.392173
2.240983
1.644112
1.641675
1.621269
1.580637
1.500914
0.2668480
0.345394
0.326393
0.199420
0.193975
0.188597
0.188028
0.163917
0.135042
0.106320
0.106264
0.101507
0.028355
0.023640
0.023637
0.009330
0.009327
0.004663
0.046959
0.032959
0.018954
0.018950
0.018949
0.018946
0.013953
0.004978
0.596375
0.596316
0.543877
0.270034
0.027598
0.004913
1.215506
1.207475
1.190096
1.173429
1.168711
1.150666
1.141774
1.073313
1.069798
0.205340
0.188046
0.187971
0.035629
0.015580
0.007789
0.029179
0.014584
0.104034
0.090030
0.075982

2.962952
2.962791
2.681079
2.053470
2.051490
2.024397
1.976688
1.865533
0.476070
0.544746
0.490956
0.328053
0.312511
0.296903
0.296693
0.260433
0.218856
0.177334
0.177320
0.161808
0.072597
0.057085
0.057085
0.031146
0.031148
0.015575
0.097119
0.073116
0.049105
0.049105
0.049105
0.049106
0.034086
0.015040
0.627189
0.627133
0.564712
0.280539
0.048553
0.015163
1.360713
1.342796
1.315285
1.288605
1.284398
1.269243
1.261775
1.179782
1.176846
0.250333
0.221317
0.221255
0.048633
0.036647
0.018323
0.051114
0.025556
0.184434
0.160429
0.136386

3.819400
3.819336
3.590153
2.753698
2.752069
2.723313
2.663684
2.547884
0.704166
0.678111
0.511387
0.323620
0.317614
0.311630
0.310670
0.270492
0.215234
0.160232
0.160148
0.155094
0.046013
0.041012
0.041010
0.018004
0.018002
0.009001
0.071024
0.050023
0.029021
0.029018
0.029018
0.029015
0.020008
0.005001
0.836286
0.836264
0.761703
0.380113
0.040002
0.005001
1.815878
1.805389
1.778026
1.750323
1.741888
1.694212
1.670713
1.566596
1.556304
0.303846
0.276748
0.276624
0.054031
0.026002
0.013000
0.046015
0.023000
0.158094
0.137093
0.116081

4.337405
4.337320
3.977918
3.111268
3.109114
3.062712
2.985384
2.837805
0.891744
0.853335
0.656083
0.436942
0.419930
0.403046
0.401289
0.350963
0.285487
0.220485
0.220310
0.205198
0.086044
0.071044
0.071035
0.038016
0.038004
0.019000
0.121099
0.090099
0.059094
0.059079
0.059076
0.059064
0.040033
0.015004
0.866437
0.866413
0.781805
0.390119
0.060003
0.015000
1.907401
1.886243
1.848189
1.809646
1.800505
1.748833
1.723365
1.608486
1.597442
0.334015
0.296893
0.296746
0.064045
0.046003
0.022999
0.066032
0.032999
0.238217
0.207215
0.176188

2.426763
2.426610
2.275318
1.678320
1.676411
1.659313
1.621768
1.541810
0.278300
0.357615
0.336784
0.207199
0.201867
0.196541
0.196224
0.171165
0.141079
0.111078
0.111051
0.106032
0.030006
0.025005
0.025004
0.010002
0.010001
0.005001
0.047013
0.033012
0.019008
0.019007
0.019007
0.019006
0.014003
0.005001
0.596593
0.596537
0.544165
0.270276
0.028002
0.005001
1.245065
1.237270
1.220029
1.203597
1.199300
1.183298
1.175412
1.105397
1.102273
0.212429
0.194379
0.194316
0.037016
0.016001
0.008001
0.030006
0.015000
0.104125
0.090122
0.076095

2.925849
2.925644
2.644102
2.016625
2.014102
1.983110
1.931645
1.820780
0.462320
0.530026
0.478324
0.318288
0.302624
0.287002
0.286421
0.251314
0.211158
0.171157
0.171099
0.156063
0.070013
0.055013
0.055010
0.030005
0.030001
0.015000
0.097045
0.073043
0.049031
0.049026
0.049025
0.049021
0.034010
0.015001
0.626965
0.626905
0.564418
0.280292
0.048004
0.015003
1.329597
1.311462
1.283869
1.257010
1.252354
1.235010
1.226463
1.146198
1.142846
0.242512
0.214451
0.214376
0.047022
0.036000
0.017999
0.050010
0.024999
0.1842930
0.160287
0.136220

834

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

Table 4 (continued)
Bus i

60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67

Bus j

61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68

Interval computation

Repeated load ow

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

Pll

Pul

Qll

Qul

0.115897
0.096904
0.077919
0.072855
0.072828
0.067845
0.067845
0.033919

0.176362
0.147339
0.118320
0.103252
0.103237
0.088199
0.088199
0.044097

0.075950
0.063954
0.051967
0.046884
0.046852
0.041868
0.041867
0.020929

0.136368
0.114345
0.092327
0.077239
0.077219
0.062181
0.062180
0.031087

0.116069
0.097065
0.078064
0.073023
0.073008
0.068006
0.068006
0.034001

0.176155
0.147146
0.118146
0.103044
0.103012
0.088008
0.088007
0.044000

0.076080
0.064075
0.052075
0.047027
0.047010
0.042007
0.042007
0.021001

0.136182
0.114172
0.092171
0.077052
0.077015
0.062010
0.062009
0.031000

variation of both real and imaginary parts of the complex

bus voltages (in kV) are given (for both interval method and
repeated load ow method). In this table, the symbols Vrll,
Vrul, Vill and Viul assume the same connotations as in Table 1.
In Table 4, the intervals of variation of both real power ow
(in MW) and reactive power ow (in MVAR) in the feeders
are given (again for both interval method and repeated load
ow method). In this table, the symbols Pll, Pul, Qll and Qul
denote the same quantities as in Table 2.
The entries of Tables 3 and 4 also afrm the observations
of Tables 1 and 2, that is, the intervals depicted by the
repeated load-ow method are always contained within
the intervals depicted by the interval arithmetic method
and the intervals obtained from these two methods are
quite close to each other.
The above observation has a very important implication.
In the planning and design studies, where it is necessary to
consider a large number of operating conditions, interval
arithmetic can be quite useful. As the interval arithmetic
based method encompasses all the solutions obtainable by
repeated simulations, interval arithmetic can be used instead
of the repeated simulations, thereby saving a lot of time and
effort. Although in the nal stage, a number of repeated
simulations may still be necessary before reaching the ultimate conclusion, in the initial stages, interval arithmetic can
be used fruitfully to save on the time and efforts required.

of these two numbers is given as

Z1 1 Z2 x11 1 x21 ; x12 1 x22 1 iy11 1 y21 ; y12 1 y22
A1
The difference Z1 2 Z2 is dened as,
Z1 2 Z2 x11 2 x22 ; x12 2 x21 1 iy11 2 y22 ; y12 2 y21
A2
Multiplication of these two numbers is dened as
Z1 p Z2 a 2 d; b 2 c 1 ie 1 g; f 1 h

A3

where,
a minx11 p x21 ; x11 p x22 ; x12 p x21 ; x12 p x22
b maxx11 p x21 ; x11 p x22 ; x12 p x21 ; x12 p x22
c miny11 p y21 ; y11 p y22 ; y12 p y21 ; y12 p y22
d maxy11 p y21 ; y11 p y22 ; y12 p y21 ; y12 p y22
e miny11 p x21 ; y11 p x22 ; y12 p x21 ; y12 p x22
f maxy11 p x21 ; y11 p x22 ; y12 p x21 ; y12 p x22
g minx11 p y21 ; x11 p y22 ; x12 p y21 ; x12 p y22
h maxx11 p y21 ; x11 p y22 ; x12 p y21 ; x12 p y22

5. Conclusion

The division of these two numbers, Z1 4 Z2 ; is dened as

In this paper, a method for radial distribution system

power ow based on interval arithmetic has been proposed.
The solution obtained from interval arithmetic based
method encompasses all the solutions obtained from
repeated simulations. Consequently, it can be an useful
tool, at least in the initial stages of any planning and design
studies, to save on the time and efforts required.

Z1 4 Z2

a 1 c; b 1 d
e 2 h; f 2 g
1i
m; n
m; n

A4

where
m minx21 p x21 ; x22 p x21 ; x22 p x22 1 miny21 p y21 ; y21
p y22 ; y22 p y22
n maxx21 p x21 ; x22 p x21 ; x22 p x22 1 maxy21 p y21 ; y21

Appendix A
Let Z1 x11 ; x12 1 iy11 ; y12 and Z2 x21 ; x22 1
iy21 ; y22 be two complex interval numbers. The addition

p y22 ; y22 p y22

and the variables a; b; c; d; e; f ; g; h have been already
dened.

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

Appendix B

Table B2 (continued)
Bus i

Tables B1 and B2
Table B1
30-Bus system: network and load data (Bus `0' is the substation node, the
voltage of which is xed at 23/08 kV)
Bus i

Bus j Branch impedance

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
8
15
16
6
18
19
6
3
22
23
24
25
26
1
28
29
V rated 23 kV

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Maximum load at Bus j

rij (V)

xij (V)

P (kW)

Q (kVAR)

0.896
0.279
0.444
0.864
0.864
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
1.374
0.864
1.374
1.374
0.864
0.864
1.374
0.864
0.444
0.444
0.864
0.864
0.864
1.374
0.279
1.374
1.374

0.155
0.015
0.439
0.751
0.751
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.774
0.751
0.774
0.774
0.751
0.751
0.774
0.751
0.439
0.439
0.751
0.751
0.751
0.774
0.015
0.774
0.774

522

936

189

336
657
783
729
477
549
477
432
672
495
207
522
1917

1116
549
792
882
882
882

174

312

63

112
219
261
243
159
183
159
144
224
165
69
174
639

372
183
264
294
294
294

Table B2
68-Bus system: network and load data (Bus `0' is the substation node, the
voltage of which is xed at 12:66/08 kV)
Bus i

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Bus j

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

835

Branch impedance

Maximum load at Bus j

rij (V)

xij (V)

P (kW)

0.0005
0.0005
0.0015
0.0251
0.3660
0.3811
0.0922
0.0493
0.8190
0.1872
0.7114

0.0012
0.0012
0.0036
0.0294
0.1864
0.1941
0.0470
0.0251
0.2707
0.619
0.2351

10
40
75
30
28
145
145

Q (kVAR)

10
30
54
22
19
104
104

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
2
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
3
35
36
37
7
40
8
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
10
55
11
57
2
39
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67

Bus j

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
39
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68

Branch impedance

Maximum load at Bus j

rij (V)

xij (V)

P (kW)

Q (kVAR)

1.0300
1.0440
1.0580
0.1966
0.3744
0.0047
0.3276
0.2106
0.3416
0.0140
0.1591
0.3463
0.7488
0.3089
0.1732
0.0044
0.064
0.3978
0.0702
0.3510
0.8390
1.7080
1.4740
0.0034
0.0851
0.2898
0.0822
0.0928
0.3319
0.1740
0.203
0.2842
0.2813
1.5900
0.7837
0.3042
0.3861
0.5075
0.0974
0.1450
0.7105
1.0410
0.2012
0.0047
0.7394
0.0047
0.0044
0.0640
0.1053
0.0304
0.0018
0.7283
0.3100
0.0410
0.0092
0.1089
0.0009
V rated
12:66 kV

0.3400
0.3450
0.3496
0.0650
0.1238
0.0016
0.1083
0.0696
0.1129
0.0046
0.0526
0.1145
0.2475
0.1021
0.0572
0.0108
0.1565
0.1315
0.0232
0.1160
0.2816
0.5646
0.4873
0.0084
0.2083
0.7091
0.2011
0.0473
1.1114
0.0886
0.1034
0.1447
0.1433
0.5337
0.2630
0.1006
0.1172
0.2585
0.0496
0.0738
0.3619
0.5302
0.0611
0.0014
0.2444
0.0016
0.0108
0.1565
0.1230
0.0355
0.0021
0.8509
0.3623
0.0478
0.0116
0.1373
0.0012

10
10

45
60
60

10
114
10

28

14
14
26
26

14
20
10

79
385
385
40
10
10
26
24

100

1244
32

227
59
18
18
28
28
26
26

24
24
10

10

39
39

10
10

30
35
35

10
81
10

20

10
10
19
19

10
14
10

56
275
275
28
10
10
19
17

72

888
23

162
42
13
13
20
20
19
19

17
17
10

10

26
26

836

B. Das / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 24 (2002) 827836

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