LOAD FLOW METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTION NETWORK DESIGN BY CONSIDERING

COMMITTED LOADS

S. JamaliP', M.R. Javdan(2), H. Shateri('), and M. Ghorbani(2)

(1) Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran (2) West Tehran Regional Distribution Company, Iran

ABSTRACT
The conventional load flow methods for transmission systems could not be utilised for distribution systems, due to their
especial characteristics. If methods like Newton-Raphson and fast-decoupled are used for distribution systems, the
probability of the convergence would be low. Therefore, due to inherent characteristics of distribution systems, it is
essential to develop the distribution version of the load flow methods. One of the applications of distribution load flow
methods is in the design process, at either MV or LV level. There are two types of loads in the design process, current
committed and demand committed loads that both must be considered by load flow for design purpose. This paper
presents a load flow method for distribution network design, which can handle both current and demand committed
loads.
Keywords: Distribution load flow, Design process, Current committed loads, Demand committed loads

INTRODUCTION units or most of industrial consumers. Most load flow

The load flow problem is an important tool for design
and operation of distribution systems. At the design
stage, it is applied to ensure that the voltage and current
standards are satisfactory under various conditions all
over the network. At the operation stage, load flow is
used to ensure that voltages and currents are within the
predefined ranges for expected loads. In addition to
direct use, the load flow problem might also be applied
as a sub-problem in other network studies. For instance,
in loss reduction problem the load flow is run for each
network configuration. Recent developments in
distribution systems automation and deregulation
necessitate for accurate and fast load flow studies.
Conventional load flow methods, such as Newton-
Raphson and fast-decoupled, are well established and
efficient for transmission networks. However, care must
be taken in using these methods for distribution
networks where the line R/X ratio is high and the
network is normally operated in radial configuration.
These characteristics of distribution networks place
them in the group of ill-conditioned networks for the
conventional methods.
As mentioned, load flow problem is utilised at the
design stage of a distribution network, either in MV or
LV levels. Among the factors that should be checked in
this process are voltage drop, line current and losses,
A load models plays a great role in selecting of a
suitable load flow method. Generally, loads could be
categorised as constant power (demand or PQ), constant
impedance, or constant current. The committed loads by
electricity companies are in two forms of committed
currents, e.g. residential costumers or small commercial
units and committed demands, e.g. large commercial
methods considered loads as constant PQ and solved the
problem by means of iterative routines. There is,
however, one method that modelled loads as constant
impedance and solved the load flow problem directly.
This paper discusses the load flow problem for
designing distribution networks. Due to the committed
loads, the loads are considered in both form of constant
PQ and constant current.
AUDIT TRAIL
Unlike transmission systems, very little attention has
been paid to the load flow problem in distribution
systems. Although there have been some load flow
solutions for distribution systems, it is difficult to
choose a suitable method for a particular application.
Many researches used conventional load flow methods,
such as Newton-Raphson, modified to solve the
networks with a high R/X ratio. A brief description of
some salient works will follow.
Kersting and Medive [1] and Kersting [2] proposed a
load flow method for solving radial distribution
networks by using the ladder-network theory, Stevens,
et al. [3] showed that the ladder method is the fastest
method, but this method does not converge for five out
of twelve networks. Shirmohammadi, et al. [4-5]
presented a method based on direct use of Kirchhoffs
voltage and current laws. They also expanded their
method to solve the weakly meshed networks. At first,
the proposed method was for balanced three-phase
systems, some years later they modified it for
unbalanced three-phase networks. Baran and Wu [6]
proposed a load flow solution by iterative solving of
three main equations which describe the active and

856
reactive power and the voltage magnitude. They
calculated the Jacobian matrix by using the chain rule.
In their method, computation of the mismatches and
Jacobian matrix was only consisted of some simple
algebraic expressions, not the trigonometric functions.
They also presented an algorithm for fast decoupled
load flow. Chiang [7] presented three different
algorithms based on the proposed method by Baran and
Wu [6]. These algorithms consisted of decoupled, fast
decoupled and very fast decoupled load flow.
Decoupled and fast decoupled methods were similar to
the methods proposed by Baran and Wu, but their very
fast decoupled load flow algorithm was very effective,
as it did not need the calculation of Jacobian matrix or
factoring. Renato [8] developed a method that
calculated equivalent electric network at each node by
summing all the loads and losses of the network fed
from that node. Then, by starting from the source node,
he computed the voltage of each node. Jasmon and Lee
[9-10] applied three basic equations describing active
and reactive power and the voltage magnitude
introduced in [6]. They also proposed a new method for
numbering the nodes and the branches, which was
useful in exact determination of active and reactive
power of the loads fed from each node and the voltage
at the end of each branch. Ghosh and Das [12] proposed
a method in which it was only necessary to evaluate
some simple algebraic variables. This method had the
ability of considering combined loads, if their
combination was known.
All of the above methods were based on iterative
techniques, where iterations continued until the
convergence criterion was satisfied. Goswami and Basu
[13] presented a method for direct solution of the load
flow problem in radial distribution networks. In this
method, only three branches are connected to each node.
To obtain such a network, it is necessary to perform
some pre-processing on the network. In contrast to the
methods described in the previous paragraph, where the
load is modelled as a constant PQ, Goswami and Basu
assumed that the loads had a constant impedance
characteristic and by this assumption they directly
solved the load flow problem.
All of the above methods considered loads as constant
PQ or constant impedance. In the case of constant PQ
the load flow is solved iteratively, while for constant
impedance loads, there is a direct solution.
NUMBERING METHOD
Network topology is an important aspect in distribution
systems studies. Many of aforementioned references
presented methods for numbering the network
components for solving the load flow problem. In
general, a numbering strategy is required in distribution
networks studies.
Here the numbering method reported in [18] is utilised,
which is somehow similar to the method presented by
Goswami and Basu [13]. In this method, the numbering
process starts from the source node. The far end node of
857
the connected branch to this node is numbered one. The
number of each branch is the number of its far end node.
After first branch, the connected branch to its far end is
numbered. This process continues and if there is a
lateral on the feeder, the branches of the lateral with
fewer components are first numbered. Fig. 1 shows this
numbering method for a typical network.
-(D
2 4
Q-MT 3 5
(D 7
(D
I
(D 6
9
10 0 1 13
14
12
15 l(g
16
8-
0
18
-(j
Fig. 1 Numbering a typical network
COMMITTED LOADS
There are various types of loads in distribution systems,
especially in MV level. Here, loads vary from single-
phase residential consumers up to industrial loads with
demands in order of megawatts.
At the design stage, various coincidence factors are
considered for sizing the network conductors for
different types of committed loads. Since the sum of the
committed loads is not equal to the maximum
simultaneous load of the network, the coincidence factor
is used. This factor is different for various types of
loads. Due to this fact, for instance, loads could be
categorised in four groups of residential, commercial,
public, and industrial. In the case of residential loads,
the coincidence factor is a function of the number of
costumers. When the number of consumers increases,
the coincidence factor would decrease. Therefore, in
this case the coincidence factor is presented in the form
of a table. On the other hand, for commercial, public,
and industrial loads, the coincidence factor is a single
quantity.
In each load group, some sub-groups could be
considered. For example, in the case of the residential
loads, due to the committed current and whether it is
single or three phase, there would be six cases: single
phase 15 A, single phase 25 A, single phase 32 A, three
phase 15 A, three phase 25 A, and three phase 32 A. On
the other hand, in the case of the commercial, public,
and industrial loads, loads could be in the form of
committed current for small costumers or committed
demand for larger ones.
Due to the mentioned cases, it is essential that the load
flow method at the design stage has the capability of
considering all of the necessary load characteristics.
LOAD FLOW SOLUTION
The admittance matrix is not used in distribution load
flow methods, in contrast to the transmission load flow
methods. In this case, because of low coupling of line
sections with each other, KVL and KCL equations are
directly formed for the line sections.
Among the methods presented, the backward and
forward sweep is an efficient method. In the backward
sweep, starting from the far end of the network, loads
current and therefore the line section currents are
calculated regarding the assumed or calculated voltages
at the previous iteration. After calculating the current of
each line section, in the forward sweep, starting from
the source node, voltages of all nodes are updated. After
the forward sweep, the convergence criterion should be
checked. There are various types of convergence criteria
dealing with node voltages, load or line section currents,
and input power to the network.
Regarding the above mentioned tips and considering
committed loads, the developed distribution load flow
method for network design is as follows.
Backward Sweep
The procedure of the load flow solution starts with
backward sweep. In the first iteration, the voltage of all
nodes assumed to be equal to the voltage of the source
node. Otherwise, the node voltages are as calculated at
the previous iteration. Knowing the node voltages, the
load currents in the form of constant PQ could be
evaluated. The current of the constant current loads
obviously does not change at this stage. Therefore, the
load current of the node i is:
F l5xN1x15j 1 15x N3x151 1
Ild, = CFR ( +25 X N1X25 3+ +25 x N3X25
L+32xN,X32j j L+32xN3X32j
+ CFC (l+((Pl(~~~ +1c
+
QcZ )/Vi)
) As mentioned, the convergence criterion should be
+CF,(Ip +((PP + ji )IV )i)
+ CF1 (IIi + ((PI1 + j Q1i) /Vi)')
where:
'id :Node i load current;
CFR: Residential loads coincidence factor;
Nx Number of residential 1-ph 15 A consumers;
Nix25 Number of residential 1-ph 25 A consumers;
N1X32 :Number of residential 1-ph 32 A consumers;
N3Xi5 : Number of residential 3-ph 15 A consumers;
858
N3X25: Number of residential 3-ph 25 A consumers;
N3X32: Number of residential 3-ph 32 A consumers;
CFC: Commercial loads coincidence factor;
IC: Sum of committed commercial currents;
PC: Sum of committed commercial active powers;
QC Sum of committed commercial reactive powers;
Vi Node i voltage;
CFP: Public loads coincidence factor;
IP: Sum of committed public currents;
PP Sum of committed public active powers;
Qp Sum of committed public reactive powers;
CFI: Industrial loads coincidence factor;
II Sum of committed industrial currents;
PI, Sum of committed industrial active powers;
QIi Sum of committed industrial reactive powers
In the above equation, active and reactive power and
voltage are in kW, kVAR, and kV, respectively. When
this equation is applied to the MV networks, the
transformer ratio should be considered for the current
committed loads, since the current usually represents the
LV level load.
After calculation of the load currents, the line section
currents can be evaluated, starting from the far end of
the network.
IL-
= ILi
i jZLN
(2,
(2)
where:
IL: Line section i current;
D: Connected line sections to node i set
Therefore by completing the backward sweep, each line
section current is evaluated.
Forward Sweep
In forward sweep starting from the source node that its
voltage is known, and knowing impedance and current
for each line section, node voltages are updated by:
V = V -Z I i= N (3)
U i L (3)
where:
Vi: Node i voltage;
Vu: Line section i near node voltage;
Zi: Line section i impedance;
IL: Line section i current
Therefore, the forward sweep finished and the voltage
of each node is evaluated.
Convergence Criterion
checked after sweeping backward and forward. Here,
the voltage difference of two consecutive iterations is
considered as the convergence criterion:
max 'jO1d -VKnew KVc^ i=I
j~.. . .........N
(4)
where:
L/Id: Node i voltage in previous iteration;
Vi: Node i voltage in present iteration;
Vc: Maximum of voltage mismatch, usually assumed to
be 10-5 p.u.
If the criterion is satisfied, the load flow solution is TABLE III Test network commercial, public, and industrial loads
complete; otherwise, the calculations are repeated. data (Ampere)
Node Commercial loads Public loads Industrial loads
Network Losses numb. I p Q I p Q J p Q
When the load flow solution converged, the losses of
the network could be calculated from the line section 1 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
currents and resistances. 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 60
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Li =R l L I.=,N (5) 4
5
0
0
0
150
0
100
0
0
800
0
600
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 300
Once the loss of each line section has been evaluated, 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 250 0 0
the total losses of the network could be calculated. The 8 250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
per-unit value of total losses is calculated by dividing 10 0 300 240 100 0 0 0 0 0
the total losses to the network input active power. This 11 0 0 0 0 250 200 0 0 0
value for design should be less than a predefine value, 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 650 500
e.g. 3°. 13
14
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
200
0
0
0
0
0
0
200
0
150
0
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 400 200
16 300 250 150 0 0 0 0 0 0
CASESTUDY 17 0 0 0 0 450 300 0 0 0
18 150 0 0 200 0 0 0 0 0
The proposed load flow method has been implemented
for the test network depicted in Fig. 1. The data for The source node voltage is assumed to be 19900 V. The
overhead networks, residential loads, and other load power factor of the current committed loads is taken to
types are given in Tables I, II andIII, respectively. be 0.9116. The coincidence factor of the residential
loads is presented in TABLE IV. The coincidence factor
TABLE I Test network data is equal to 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 for commercial, public, and
Line section Length Cross-section industrial loads, respectively.
number (m) (mm2)
1 500 126 TABLE IV Residential consumers' coincidence factor
2 700 126 From To Coincidence Factor
3 450 73
4 1200 42 1 3 0.80
5 600 73 4 6 0.45
6 1000 42 7 8 0.44
7 1620 73 9 11 0.43
8 1250 126 12 12 0.42
9 520 126 13 14 0.41
10 2800 42 15 16 0.40
11 950 73 17 18 0.39
12 1450 42 19 21 0.38
13 1320 73 22 22 0.37
14 1260 126 23 24 0.36
15 3440 42 25 26 0.35
16 1500 126 27 28 0.34
17 2400 73 29 31 0.33
18 1460 126 32 32 0.32
33 34 0.31
35 37 0.30
TABLE II Test network residential loads data (Ampere) 38 39 0.29

Node IxIS Nodelx25 1x32 3xl5 3x25 3x32

~~44 ~ ~~46 ~ ~~~~~~~~~40
0.28
43
0.27
number ______ 47 51 0.26
1 15 70 30 12 18 7 52 56 0.25
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 62 0.24
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 63 and over 0.23
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 Considering the above data, the load flow study results
7 0 0 0 0 0 0 are given in TABLE V. Load flow results are in the
8 20 150 40 30 12 15 form of nodes voltage, voltage drops, nodes load
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 current, line sections current, and line sections loss. The
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 total losses of the network is equal to 65.893 kW, which
12 0 0 0 0 0 0 iS 1.2273 /o of the input active power of the network.
13 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 0 180 0 0 0 0 It can be seen that the results of the presented load flow
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 method could easily be utilised for the distribution
17 0 0 0 0 0 0 network design. Knowing the load flow results, the
18 0 100 50 0 10 0 fulfillment of design criteria could be checked.

859
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