2032 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS—II: EXPRESS BRIEFS, VOL. 66, NO.

12, DECEMBER 2019

On Linear Analysis of the Power Flow Equations

for DC and AC Grids With CPLs
Oscar Danilo Montoya , Member, IEEE

Abstract—This express brief presents an approximation of

the power flow problem for alternating-current (ac) and direct-
current (dc) distribution networks by using a linear representa-
tion of the hyperbolic constraints i = p/v ↔ I = S/V related to
the power balance at each constant power load node. Taylor’s or
Laurent’s series expansion methods are not required to obtain
an equivalent linear power flow model. The proposed linear
method allows us to achieve a high quality approximation of
the power flow modeling without iterative procedures. Our sim-
ulation results show the accurate estimation of the voltage profile Fig. 1. Schematic connection of CPLs in resistive dc networks.
in distribution networks by the proposed linear approach in
comparison to existing methods in specialized literature for
ac and dc networks, including linear estimators or classical
numerical methods, such as Gauss–Seidel and Newton–Raphson losses [13] or stability indexes [14], among others. Notice that
approaches. Numerical implementation of those approaches is power flow models have converted from a circuital problem
carried out in the MATLAB 2017a programming environment.
to a nonlinear numerical problem, as is evidenced by current
Index Terms—Alternating-current power grids, constant- investigations that forget their original formulation, mainly for
power loads, direct-current power grids, linear power flow power system readers. Nevertheless, the power flow problem is
approximation.
essentially the application of the well-known voltage method
in conjunction with Tellegen’s theorems [4], [12], which
I. I NTRODUCTION implies that this problem can be analyzed from a circuital point
of view, which is mainly interesting for control and microgrids
OWER flow analysis in alternating-current (ac) and
P direct-current (dc) grids corresponds to the most essen-
tial numerical toolbox for determining voltage profiles in
purposes, as well as research communities related to circuits
and systems [12], [15]. Fig. 1 shows a circuit interconnection
of ideal voltage source (slack nodes), resistive lines and loads,
these networks when constant power loads (CPLs) are
as well as CPLs into a dc network, which confirms that this
interconnected to them [1], [2]. Power flow methods are
analysis can developed via circuit theory.
iterative processes that allow us to solve the nonlinear non-
Based on these comments, this brief proposes a linear power
convex set that represents the power flow problem for ac and
flow analysis for ac and dc power grids via circuit analysis [1].
dc grids [3], [4] via numerical analysis. Most of the commonly
As a linearization method, a graphical interpretation of the
used methods correspond to conventional Gauss-Seidel [5],
hyperbolic power balance constraints for dc networks is intro-
Newton-Raphson [6], [7], sweep backward/forward [8], con-
duced and is then extended to ac networks via a mathematical
vex reformulations [9]–[11] and linear approximation via
extrapolation by comparison between ac and dc models. Notice
Taylor’s and Laurent’s series [2], [3].
that linear methods have previously been proposed for dc and
Determination of voltage profiles in electric power systems
ac grids in [2] and [3], respectively. These approaches use
is an important and widely studied problem in optimization,
Taylor’s and Laurent’s Series expansion methods to achieved
operation and control problems [4], [12] for grid connected
their linear realizations, which requires imposing differentia-
or islanded operation modes [7], [10] because voltage pro-
bility constraints to the power flow model and use well-defined
files represent indispensable values for calculating power
linearization points [2]. Furthermore, in the linear approach
Manuscript received November 30, 2018; accepted January 16, 2019. Date studied in this brief, a general formulation for solving power
of publication January 21, 2019; date of current version December 6, 2019. flow equations via maximum and minimum voltage weight-
This work was supported in part by the Administrative Department of
Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia (COLCIENCIAS) through ing factors is proposed to reduce the voltage estimation errors
the National Scholarship Program under Grant 727-2015, and in part by the exhibited in existing linear approaches and conserving their
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar under Project C2018P020. This brief was computational efficiency.
recommended by Associate Editor Z. Galias.
The author is with the Program of Electric and Electronic Engineering, To introduce readers to the power flow modeling from
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Cartagena 131001, Colombia (e-mail: the circuit theory point of view, hyperbolic power constraints
o.d.montoyagiraldo@ieee.org). and linear relation between net voltage and currents for dc
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. networks are studied in Section II by defining required condi-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TCSII.2019.2894149 tions for existence of power flow solution. Section III shows
1549-7747 c 2019 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

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MONTOYA et al.: ON LINEAR ANALYSIS OF POWER FLOW EQUATIONS FOR DC AND AC GRIDS WITH CPLs
the graphical interpretation of the linear proposed method
for dc networks, while Section IV shows its extension to
the ac case by comparison. The test system and numerical
performance of the proposed linear method in comparison
with nonlinear Newton-Raphson, Gauss-Seidel, sweep back-
ward/forward and existing linear approximations are presented
and discussed in Section V. Finally, the main conclusions
derived from this brief are presented in Section VI.
II. N ONLINEAR M ODELING
Mathematical formulation of any dc network for power
flow analysis—i.e., complete determination of circuit variables
(voltages and currents)—is defined by applying Kirchhoff’s
laws based on nodal voltage method [16]. For this purpose,
some assumptions are required [5].
Assumption 1: The dc grid is composed by n nodes and
l resistive lines, such that their interconnection generates a
connected three with radial or mesh topology.
Assumption 2: In the dc network there are s constant volt-
age sources that provides all of the power consumed by CPLs,
as well as grid power losses. Notice that s < n.
Assumption 3: For steady state operation, all of the volt-
age profiles vk at all nodes of the network are constrained
between two positive well defined bounds; i.e., vmin ≤ vi ≤
vmax , k = 1, 2, . . . , n.
Assumption 4: Nonlinear modeling of dc networks has
sense if and only of there is at least one constant power device
interconnected to the grid, otherwise the resulting dc model is
linear and analytically solvable.
Considering those assumptions, mathematical modeling of
dc networks for power flow studies has the following structure

n
ik = Gkj vj , ∀k ∈ N ;
j=1
pk = vk ik , ∀k ∈ N ;
where ik and vk correspond to the nodal variables defined
as total net current flowing from electrical ground to node
k and also the nodal voltage, respectively; Gkj corresponds
to the conductance component that relates nodes k and j;
vj represents the nodal voltage at node j; pk is the power
injection/consumption and node k; while ∈ N is the set that
contains all nodes of the dc network.
From formulation (1)-(2) it is possible to conclude that the
constant voltage sources exhibit a linear relationship because
their voltage profiles are totally known and well-defined,
which entails that power and currents in these devices are
free variables that permit support for the total power con-
sumption in the remaining elements of the dc grid. If S is
defined as the set that contains all constant voltage sources,
then the remaining nodes n − s contained in the demand sub-
set D = N − S continue as a set of nonlinear non-convex
equations [4] because (2) is a set of hyperbolic constraints [1].

n Gkj vj = αk + βk vk ,
ik = Gkj vj , ∀k ∈ D ;
j=1
pk
ik = , ∀k ∈ D ;
vk
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2033
Fig. 2. Nonlinear power flow relation and linear proposed estimation.
It is important to highlight that the proposed power flow
model is suitable for inclusion of ZIP (polynomial) load
models because the hyperbolic relation between voltage and
currents remains in the constant power component of the
load, while their impedance and current constant components
continue exhibiting a linear relationship between voltage and
currents.1
To solve the set of equations (3) and (4), numerical meth-
ods are required, such Gauss-Seidel (successive approxima-
tions) [5], Newton-Raphson [7], linear approximations [2] or
convex reformulations [4], [10]. The next section proposes a
linear equivalent model to transform a hyperbolic set of con-
straints associated to CPLs into a set of linear constraints
without recurring to conventional Taylor’s series expansion
presented in [2].
III. P ROPOSED L INEAR DC M ODEL
A linear formulation for the power flow problem is derived
in this section by obtaining a linear tendency of the hyper-
bolic constraint associated to CPLs [1]. Suppose that at node
k there is connected a CPL (e.g., node 3 in Fig. 1), which is
(1)
depicted in Fig. 2. Notice that this hyperbolic constraint can
be approximated as a linear function around operating limits
(2)
vmin and vmax , as also presented in Fig. 2. If the lower bound
vmin is select closer to upper bound vmax , then an accurate
approximation of the hyperbolic constraint can be archived
via a linear function. For regulatory policies, normally in dc
networks a voltage regulation of ±5% is allowed to guarantee
a secure and reliable operation [17].
If the straight equation is applied for the linear tendency
depicted in Fig. 2, then the following expression can be
achieved.
pk
ik  ((vmin + vmax ) − vk ), ∀k ∈ D ; (5)
vmin vmax
Notice that (5) shows a linear relation between total cur-
rent injected at node k and its voltage profile as function
of the upper and lower bounds, as well as total power con-
sumed/injected. If expression (3) is combined to (5), then the
next linear function is obtained

n
∀k ∈ D ; (6)
(3) j=1
1 For more details of the inclusion of ZIP models on the power flow analysis,
(4) see [3].
2034 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS—II: EXPRESS BRIEFS, VOL. 66, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2019
where
pk
αk = (vmin + vmax ) & βk = − vminpvkmax
vmin vmax
Now, if expression (6) is organized in compact format, then
the next matrix representation is reached
Gdd vd + Gdg vg = α + Bdd vd ;
where Gdd ∈ R(n−s)×(n−s) contains all conductive effects
associated to demand nodes, Gdg ∈ Rn×s contains all con-
ductive couplings between demand and voltage source nodes,
α ∈ R(n−s)×1 is a column vector that contains all information
related to constant power loads and Bdd ∈ R(n−s)×(n−s) is a
square diagonal matrix that contains information associated to
CPLs, and vg ∈ Rs×1 and vd ∈ R(n−s)×1 are voltage profiles
in the voltage source and demand nodes, respectively.
Observe that (7) can be directly solved for the voltage
demand nodes, as follows
 
vd = (Bdd − Gdd )−1 Gdg vg − α ; (8)
It is noteworthy that equation (8) corresponds to the main
result derived in this brief and it is a general extension of the
linear based method proposed in [2].
IV. E XTENSION TO AC N ETWORKS
An equivalent linear representation for voltage profile deter-
mination in alternating-current power grids can be obtained
by comparison to above presented dc case, if ac grids are
working under steady state conditions with perfect sinusoidal
regime [18]. The power balance equations of the set of demand
nodes can be formulated in ac grids as follows
id = Ydg vg + Ydd vd ;
id = diag(vd )−1 Sd ;
where id ∈ C(n−s)×1 represents the net current injection at
load nodes, vg ∈ Cs×1 and vd ∈ C(n−s)×1 correspond to the
slack voltages (known voltage profiles in ideal generators) and
demand voltages (unknown voltage profiles at load nodes),
respectively. Sd ∈ C(n−s)×1 corresponds to the complex power
demands, besides Ydg ∈ C(n−s)×s and Ydd ∈ C(n−s)×(n−s)
correspond to the admittance nodal matrix comportments asso-
ciated to relationship between demands and ideal generators,
as well as relationships between consumption nodes [3].
Notice that (9) corresponds to a set of linear equations in
complex domain and (10) corresponds to a set of nonlinear
equations in the same domain [3]. Notice that the graphi-
cal analysis is not possible in complex plane as presented
for the dc case (see Fig. 2) because complex numbers do
not correspond to an ordered set. Nevertheless, an equivalent
linear representation can be easily achieved if (10) is com-
pared to (4), which generates the following equivalent linear
representation
id ≈ β − Ddd vd ;
where
vmin + vmax   firmed by the estimation error presented in column four of
β= S & Ddd = vmin vmax diag(Sd )
1
vmin vmax d
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and vmin and vmax represent the root-mean-square voltage
bounds. Now, if (11) is equaled to (9), then the following
set of linear complex equations are obtained
a1 + B1 vd + C1 vd = 0; (12)
where
(7)
a1 = Ydg vg − β, B1 = Ddd & C1 = Ydd
Finally, to solve the approximated power flow model in ac
networks, the set of complex equations (12) can be decom-
posed in real and imaginary parts, as presented below
 r  r −1  r 
vd B1 + Cr1 Bi1 − Ci1 a1
=− i ; (13)
vdi B1 + Ci1 −Br1 + Cr1 ai1
where superscripts r and i make reference to the real and
imaginary parts, respectively.
It is important to highlight that this linear power flow
formulation was previously proposed by [3] by applying
Laurent’s series expansion in complex domain by assuming
that vmin and vmax are identically to 1.0 in pert-unit represen-
tation. Nevertheless, in this brief, an extended version of that
approach is proposed with lower estimation error and identical
computational performance.
V. N UMERICAL E XAMPLES
The proposed linear approximation for analyzing ac and dc
networks is validated in the MATLAB programming environ-
ment 2017a through two specialized literature electric grids.
In the case of dc networks, a 21-node test feeders presented
in [2] is employed; while for ac grids, the conventional and
widely used 33-node test system is employed [13].
(9) For comparison purposes, numerical methods such as
Newton-Raphson [7], Gauss-Seidel [5] and linear approxi-
(10)
mation [2] are implemented for dc cases, while ac cases
are compared to conventional sweep forward/backward power
flow method and a linear approximation when radial operation
for the network is guaranteed [3].
A. DC Grid: 21-Node Test Feeder
This test system is an adaptation of the 21-node test system
presented in [2] and [7]. Two ideal power sources are located
at nodes 1 and 21, which operates with 1.0 p.u and 1.05 p.u,
respectively. The test system configuration and parameters are
presented in Fig. 3, while its electrical parameters can be
consulted in [16].
In this system for evaluating the proposed linear method,
the maximum and minimum voltage values are assigned to
0.985 p.u and 1.015 p.u, respectively.
Fig. 4 presents the voltage profiles for the comparison meth-
ods, as well as the proposed linear approach. Observe that
graphically no differences can be appreciated between linear
and nonlinear conventional iterative methods, which confirms
(11) the excellent performance of the linear methods for power dc
power flows, as discussed in [2]. The close behavior between
comparison methods and proposed linear approach is con-
Table I.
MONTOYA et al.: ON LINEAR ANALYSIS OF POWER FLOW EQUATIONS FOR DC AND AC GRIDS WITH CPLs
Fig. 3. Electrical configuration for the 21-nodes test system.
Fig. 4. Voltage performance for 21-node test feeder for different power flow
methods.
TABLE I
N UMERICAL P ERFORMANCE OF THE 21-N ODE T EST F EEDER
In Table I, if Newton-Raphson is selected as the exact solu-
tion, then the estimation errors are listed in column four.
Observe that the proposed linear method proposed in this
brief has a lower estimation error in comparison to the lin-
ear approximation presented in [2]. This difference is given
by the weight factors vmin and vmax (see αk and βk param-
eters defined in (6)), which allows better voltage estimation
in comparison to the approaches based on Taylor’s expansion
where an specific desired operating point must be required,
which is typically selected as 1.0 p.u. as recommended
by [2], [3], and [5].
It is important to mention that Gauss-Seidel method must
considered in conjunction to Newton-Raphson method as the
most accurate power flow methods, as shown in the estimation
error between them [5], [7]. Nevertheless, in terms of process-
ing times, Gauss-Seidel is 5.87 times slower than Newton-
Raphson method, while linear methods are 9.64 times faster
than Newton-Raphson approach. This is a clear advantage for
applications that require multiple power flow solutions, such
planning and operation of dc microgrids [19].
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2035
Fig. 5. Electrical configuration for the 33-node test system.
TABLE II
E LECTRICAL PARAMETERS FOR THE 33-N ODE T EST S YSTEM
B. AC Grid: 33-Node Test Feeder
This test system is conformed by 33 buses and 32 lines,
as depicted in Fig. 5. This system has only one (main)
generator with a total active and reactive power demand of
3715 kW and 2300 kVAr, respectively. Notice that this system
has a radial configuration, typically for electric distribution
networks, which allows using sweep backward/forward to
determine its voltage profiles [8]. All of the parameters of this
test system related to the power demand and resistive-inductive
effects in all branches are listed in Table II [13].
To evaluate the performance of the proposed linear method
on this system, it is assumed that voltage and power bases
are 12.66 kV and 100 kVA with vmin = 0.9 p.u and vmax =
1.0 p.u.
Table III reports the processing times that have been used
to solve the power flow problem for the 33-node test feeder
with different numerical methods and linear approximations,
as well as the maximum estimation error in the voltage profiles
supposing that the Newton-Raphson method corresponds to the
most accurate solution.
2036 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS—II: EXPRESS BRIEFS, VOL. 66, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2019
TABLE III
N UMERICAL P ERFORMANCE OF THE 33-N ODE T EST F EEDER
Fig. 6. Voltage performance for 33-node test feeder for different power flow
methods.
From Table III, it is possible to observe that the proposed
method has the same rate of time convergence than the linear
method proposed in [3], which only takes 0.914% of the total
time required by the Newton-Raphson, and 23.027% of the
time used by the backward/forward method. Additionally, in
terms of precision, observe that the proposed method has the
lower estimation error in comparison to the linear method,
which implies that the proposed extension in this brief has
better performance in comparison to method presented in [3]
for the 33-node test feeder.
Fig. 6 depicts the voltage profile performance of the 33-node
test feeder when different power flow methods and linear
estimators are used to analyze this system.
It is possible to observe that the comparison methods and
the linear proposed method have very close behavior, and
the higher differences associated to the maximum estimation
errors reported in column four in Table III are related to nodes
located near to the 18 node (see zoom area in Fig. 6) because
this zone is the end of the main feeder, as shown in Fig. 5.
VI. C ONCLUSION
This brief has presented a generalization of the existing lin-
ear methods for power grids with CPLs. The linear proposed
approximation corresponds to an alternative representation
for power flow analysis that avoids Taylor’s or Laurent’s
series expansion and it does not require special conditions for
the differentiability properties in the complex domain for ac
grids. Besides, vmin and vmax weighting factors allowed better
approximations in comparison to the reported linear methods.
Nevertheless, if both values are selected as 1.0 p.u, then the
proposed model generates those linear representations.
The classical ac and dc networks that are widely used
in the specialized literature confirm the excellent numerical
performance of the proposed linear method in comparison
to classical used Newton-Raphson, Gauss-Seidel and sweep
backward/forward power flow methods, in terms of voltage
estimation and processing time required for enhancing volt-
age profiles at distribution grids. This would be embedded
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in an optimization process that requires multiple power flow
solutions, such as optimal location of distributed generation or
optimal power flows via metaheuristic techniques and so on.
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