ECE422 Session 6; Page 1/6

Power Systems Analysis Spring 2016

OVERVIEW OF POWER FLOW

Power Flow Problems

General Information
1. Represent the transmission system in Ybus matrix
2. Ybus elements are based on admittances of transmission lines, transformers,
and shunt elements on the transmission system
3. Treat generators and loads as injections of real and reactive power.
4. Normally know P and Q at load buses, and |V | and P at generators.
5. You want to find |V | and 6 V at each bus, from solution of set of complex,
non-linear equatons.
6. You can later compute all line flows of P and Q using bus voltages and angles.
7. ΣPgen = ΣPLoad + ΣPlosses, but losses aren’t known.
8. So we need a slack bus for simulation purposes, where we specify voltage
magnitude and angle, and leave P,Q to be determined when all done.
9. Complex power flow equation:
Number the slack bus as Bus 1

n
∗ V ∗ f or i ∈ [2, n]
X
Si = Vi yik ik
k=1

10. Rectangular form:

yij = gij + jbij , recall, equation uses yij∗

n
X
Pi = |Vi ||Vk | [gik COS(θi − θk ) + bik SIN (θi − θk ] f or i ∈ [2, n]
k=1
Xn
Qi = |Vi ||Vk | [gik SIN (θi − θk ) − bik COS(θi − θk ] f or i ∈ [2, n]
k=1
ECE422 Session 6; Page 2/6
Power Systems Analysis Spring 2016

Gauss Iteration
1. Put equations in the form:
1  Si∗
 
Xn
Vi = hi (V ) = ∗ − yik Vk  f or i ∈ [2, n]
yii Vi k=1,k6=i

2. Make initial guesses for each |V |6 θ, generally, 16 0◦

3. Solve the set of equations:
V2m+1 = h2 [V2m , V3m , ..., Vnm ]
V3m+1 = h3 [V2m , V3m , ..., Vnm ]
V4m+1 = h4 [V2m , V3m , ..., Vnm ]
.. ..
. .
Vnm+1 = hn [V2m , V3m , ..., Vnm ]

4. Until kV k ≤ ǫ
5. If you are given a P, |V | bus: Compute Q for that bus before compute Vi for
that step. Plug in the known |Vj | ’s.

Gauss-Seidel Method
1. Basically the same as Gauss Iteration, but now you use the updated voltages
as you find them.
2. Make initial guesses for each |V |6 θ, generally, 16 0◦
3. Solve the set of equations:
V2m+1 = h2 [V2m , V3m , ..., Vnm ]
V3m+1 = h3 [V2m+1 , V3m , ..., Vnm ]
V4m+1 = h4 [V2m+1 , V3m+1, V4m , ..., Vnm ]
.. ..
. .
Vnm+1 = hn [V2m+1, V3m+1, ..., Vn−1 m+1
, Vnm ]

4. Until kV k ≤ ǫ
ECE422 Session 6; Page 3/6
Power Systems Analysis Spring 2016

Newton-Raphson Method
1. Use the rectangular form of the power flow equations.
2. Define:
 

θ2 

 θ3 

..
 
.
 
 
 
θn
 
 
x=  
......
 
 
 
|V2 |
 
 
..
 
 



. 


|Vn |

3. Define mismatch vector as:

 

P2 − P2 (xn ) 

 P3 − P3 (xn ) 

..
 
.
 
 
 
Pn − Pn (xn )
 
∆h(xn ) =
 
 
............
 
 
 
Q2 − Q2(xn )
 
 
..
 
 



. 


Qn − Qn (xn )

4. Again, make initial guesses for all |Vi |6 θi

5. Compute Jacobian, and evaluate for the current xn
6. Solve: J(xn ) ∆xn = ∆h(x)n for ∆x
7. xn+1 = xn + ∆x
8. Recompute mismatch
9. Repeat until k∆h(x)n+1k ≤ ǫ
ECE422 Session 6; Page 4/6
Power Systems Analysis Spring 2016

10. Eliminate equation for Q at any P, |V | buses

11. When converged, go back and find P and Q at slack bus, and Q at all P, |V |
buses

Fast Decoupled Load Flow

1. Approximation to speed up Newton-Raphson
2. Assume that gik is small enough to neglect at each bus.
3. Assume that θi − θj is small, such that:
sin(θi − θj ) = 0 and
cos(θi − θj ) = 1
4. Then Jacobian is of the form:
 
[B] 0
J(x) =  
0 [B]

where:  

b22 b23 . . . b2n 

b32 b33 . . . b3n 
B=
 

.. .. .. .. 
. . . .
 
 
 
bn2 bn3 . . . bnn
5. Then solve for ∆θ and ∆|V | in the following:
 ∆P 
2
 |V2 | 
 
 
 
 ∆P3 
 |V3 |
 

−[B]∆θ =
 
 
 .
 
 .

 .


 
 
 
∆Pn
 
|Vn |
ECE422 Session 6; Page 5/6
Power Systems Analysis Spring 2016

 ∆Q 
2
 |V2 | 
 
 
 
 ∆Q3 
 |V3 |
 

−[B]∆|V | =
 
 
..
 
 



. 


 
 
∆Qn
 
|Vn |

6. Then |V |n+1 = |V |n + ∆|V |n and θn+1 = θn + ∆θn

7. Until within tolerate on mismatch vector:
k∆P k ≤ ǫ and k∆Qk ≤ ǫ