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Abstract—The widespread use of distributed generations (DGs) a variety of power injection variations [5]–[10]. Power injection
in utility distribution feeders is a trend, and it brings about variations include both load variation and active generation
several challenges to the operation, planning, and design of gen- scheduling in power systems. Several commercial packages for
eral distribution networks. In this paper, a comprehensive tool,
generating P-V, Q-V and P-Q-V curves are based on continu-
Continuation Distribution Power Flow (CDFLOW), is presented
and evaluated. CDFLOW can be used for tracing steady-state ation methods [11]. Furthermore, continuation methods have
stationary behaviors of general unbalanced distribution systems found their practical applications in energy control centers, to
due to various types of power injection variations, including name a few, at PJM Interconnection, California ISO, TVA (TN,
high penetration of DGs. The major computation engine behind USA). A CTPFlow for voltage stability analysis of unbalanced
CDFLOW is the continuation method. Major components, either three phase power systems was presented in which local pa-
balanced or unbalanced, grounded or ungrounded, are well rameterization, tangent predictor and newton corrector were
modeled in CDFLOW. A detailed description of CDFLOW and
its implementation regarding the predictor, corrector, adaptive employed [12]. Several continuation power flow algorithms
step-size control and parameterizations are presented. For illus- have been proposed for radial distribution systems [13], [14].
trative purposes, CDFLOW was applied to the IEEE 8500-node These methods are applicable only for radial networks.
test system and a practical 1103-node distribution networks with In this paper, a comprehensive tool, termed Continuation Dis-
promising results. tribution Power Flow (CDFLOW) is presented and evaluated.
Index Terms—Continuation power flow, distributed generations, CDFLOW can be used for tracing steady-state behaviors of gen-
distribution systems, power flow, saddle-node bifurcation. eral distribution networks (radial and meshed) due to various
power injection variations, including penetration of DGs. One
advantage of this tool over the existing repetitive power flow is
I. INTRODUCTION that it allows operators to exploit the potential of existing distri-
bution networks to delivery more renewable energy resources to
R ECENT years have witnessed a growing trend towards loads. This potential comes from the fact that CDFLOW can re-
the development and deployment of distributed gener- liably compute the P–V curve and the nose point (i.e., the max-
ation (DG). This trend in combination with new distribution imum loading point) which represents the power delivery po-
generation technologies have profoundly changed the tra- tential of the study distribution network.
ditional analysis, design, control paradigm of distribution The major computation engine behind CDFLOW is the
networks [1]–[4]. It is hence important to develop comprehen- continuation method. Continuation power flow is an efficient
sive analysis tools for assessing the impacts of large integration numerical method to determine how far the current operating
of distributed generations on distribution networks, and then point is away from its static security limit as well as operational
to mitigate the adverse consequences of distributed resources and engineering limits, such as bus voltage limits and branch
integration. thermal limits. This piece of information can help operators
Continuation power flow is a powerful tool to simulate fully exploit distribution networks to delivery more renewable
power system steady-state stationary behaviors with respect to energy resource and/or serve more loads, thus maximize the
value of existing distribution assets in delivering power from
renewables to load centers. Compared with the repetitive power
flow approach, the continuation power flow has three main
Manuscript received June 18, 2013; revised September 24, 2013; accepted
October 30, 2013. Date of publication November 25, 2013; date of current ver- advantages: 1) it is more reliable in obtaining the solution
sion April 16, 2014. The work of H. Shen was supported in part by the Na- curve, especially for ill-conditioned power flow equations; 2) it
tional Basic Research Program of China under Grant 2012CB215102, the State is faster via an effective predictor-corrector, adaptive step size
Grid Corporation of China, Major Projects on Planning and Operation Control
of Large Scale Grid (SGCC-MPLG028-2012). The work of H.-D. Chiang was
control algorithm; and 3) it is more versatile via parameteri-
supported in part by the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solu- zations such that load and generation power at a single bus, a
tions provided by U.S. Department under Contract DE-FC26-09NT43321 and part of buses, and all buses can vary. In this paper, a detailed
by Research Fund of Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST) description of CDFLOW and its numerical implementations
under Grant 2010GJPY065. Paper no. TPWRS-00766-2013.
H. Sheng is with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, for reliable and fast simulation of quasi-static behaviors of
Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China (e-mail: shenghao@tju.edu.cn). distribution networks due to variations of power injections at a
H.-D. Chiang is with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, collection of buses are presented. These numerical implemen-
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA (e-mail: chiang@ ece.cornell.edu).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
tations are performed through three types of predictors, two
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. different correctors, three different parameterization schemes,
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRS.2013.2289917 and adaptive step-size control.
0885-8950 © 2013 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.
1366 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 29, NO. 3, MAY 2014
CDFLOW can be used in a variety of applications such as: 1) E. Lines, Switch, Breaker, and Disconnector
to simulate static behaviors of distribution networks due to load
and/or renewable variations with/without control devices; 2) to
III. THREE-PHASE CONTINUATION POWER FLOW
study voltage and thermal limit problems due to load and/or gen-
eration variations; 3) to evaluate maximum delivery capability The power flow equations of three-phase distribution net-
of distribution networks; 4) to conduct coordination studies of works for phase of bus are
control devices for their impacts on distribution system static
behaviors; and 4) simulate the impact of automatic disconnec-
tion of loads due to voltage sags on system static behaviors.
The distinguished features of CDFLOW include: 1) the level (1)
of modeling capability for balanced, unbalanced networks,
grounded or ungrounded devices; 2) its computational speed
and reliability for large-scale distribution networks; 4) the (2)
impact of reactive power limits of DGs is taken into consider-
ation; 4) the exact saddle-node bifurcation point is computed;
5) weak areas and weak nodes can be identified and the load These equations can be combined in compact form as
margin is accurately computed. and 6) all of the voltage and
thermal limits along the P–V curves can be identified. (3)
B. Load
(5)
• General load models, including constant power, constant
current, and constant impedance types or their combina-
For PV type nodes, the corresponding continuation power
tion. Three-phase loads can be balanced or unbalanced and
flow equations are
connected in grounded wye or ungrounded delta configu-
rations and single-phase or two-phase grounded loads.
C. Distribution Transformer
(6)
• Three-phase transformers of connection types include: (7)
grounded/ungrounded wye-delta connection, delta con-
nection, grounded/ungrounded wye-grounded/ungrounded
wye connection, open grounded wye-open delta connec-
tion, V-connection, and autotransformer.
• Single-phase transformer: two-wire connection or three- (8)
wire connection. (9)
• Voltage regulator: on-load tap controller (LTC), line-drop
compensator (LDC), and single-phase line voltage where is the proposed active generation variation at bus
regulator. phase , and and are the proposed real and reactive
load variations at bus .
The load model can be represented as constant impedance,
D. Shunt Compensator
constant current, constant power, or combination of them as
• Shunt compensator can be a capacitor or a reactor, fixed or follows:
switchable. A three-phase shunt compensator can be bal-
anced or unbalanced and connected in grounded wye or un-
grounded delta configurations. Single-phase or two-phase
grounded shunt compensators are treated similarly. (10)
SHENG AND CHIANG: CDFLOW: PRACTICAL TOOL FOR TRACING STATIONARY BEHAVIORS OF GENERAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS 1367
For a P-V node with a Q limit, say , the three phase 4) Pseudo arc length parameterization was proposed in
continuation power flow equation can be expressed as follows: [18], of which the most popular form is
(11)
(19)
(12)
CDFLOW implements the arc length, pseudo-arc length, and
IV. TRACING QUASI-STEADY-STATE BEHAVIORS local parameterization schemes. The local parameterization
To trace the steady-state behavior due to load/renewables scheme can compute special points, such as voltage violation
variation, it is necessary to solve the continuation power flow points and thermal limit points.
equations with different values of . CDFLOW treats the
parameter as another state variable as follows: B. Predictor
The predictor attempts to find an approximation point for the
(13) next solution . The quality of the approximation
and introduces another parameter, arc length , along the solu- point by a predictor significantly affects the number of iterations
tion curve. Both and are functions of the arc length param- required by a corrector in order to obtain an exact solution. A
eter : better approximation point yields a smaller number of iterations
needed in a corrector to reach the solution.
(14) Several different predictors have been proposed in the liter-
ature. They can be divided into two classes. First is the ODE-
The step-size along the arc length yields the following based methods, which use the current solution and its deriva-
constraint: tives to predict the next solution. The tangent method, a pop-
ular one as a predictor, is a first-order ODE based method. The
(15) second class is polynomial extrapolation-based methods; which
use only current and previous solutions to find an approximated
We solve the following equations for the solution. The secant method, a popular polynomial-based linear
unknowns and : predictor, uses the current solution and the previous one to pre-
dict the next one. Nonlinear methods, which are the most pop-
(16) ular predictors, apply the second-order Lagrange’s polynomial
interpolation formula.
(17) In order to achieve computational efficiency, CDFLOW em-
ploys the tangent method in the first point of solution curve
CDFLOW solves these augmented power flow equa- tracing, the secant method in the second point computation and
tions to obtain the solution curve passing through the the nonlinear method afterwards. The nonlinear method em-
“nose” point without encountering the numerical difficulty ploys Lagrange’s polynomial interpolation formula to approxi-
of ill-conditioning. mate the next solution. It is a multi-order polynomial-based pre-
Continuation methods, sometimes called curve tracing or dictor [19]. The predicted solution at step may be
path following, are useful tools to generate solution curves for written as
general nonlinear algebraic equations with a varying parameter.
Continuation methods have four basic elements: parameteriza- (20)
tion, predictor, corrector, and step-size control.
(23) Then, form the vector sum of the bus injection power pattern.
SHENG AND CHIANG: CDFLOW: PRACTICAL TOOL FOR TRACING STATIONARY BEHAVIORS OF GENERAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS 1369
Fig. 5. Comparison of 3-phase voltage magnitude of Bus1216 without and with Fig. 6. Three-phase voltage magnitudes at Bus M1027055 as loading increase;
under-voltage load disconnection. As expected, the voltage magnitudes experi- phase a is the weakest phase, and its voltage drops fast.
ence several sudden changes during curve tracing, each corresponding to one or
more load disconnections.
TABLE I
DISTRIBUTED GENERATOR DEPLOYED IN THE IEEE 8500-NODE TEST SYSTEM
voltage and thermal limit problems due to load and/or gener- [17] R. Seydel, From Equilibrium to Chaos: Practical Bifurcation and Sta-
ation variations; 3) to evaluate maximum delivery capability bility Analysis. New York, NY, USA: Elsevier, 1988.
[18] H. B. Keller, “Numerical solution of bifurcation and nonlinear eigen-
of distribution networks; and 4) simulate the impacts of auto- value problems,” in Applications of Bifurcation Theory, P. H. Rabi-
matic disconnection of loads due to voltage sags on system static nowitz, Ed. New York, NY, USA: Academic, 1977, pp. 359–384.
behaviors. [19] H. Mori and S. Yamada, “Continuation power flow with the nonlinear
predictor of the Lagrange’s polynomial interpolation formula,” in Proc.
CDFLOW was applied to the IEEE 8500-node test system
IEEE/PES T&D Conf. Exhibition, 2002, vol. 2, pp. 1133–1138.
and a practical 1103-node distribution networks with promising [20] W. H. Kersting and D. L. Mendive, “An application of ladder network
results. Further development in CDFLOW with detailed models theory to the solution of three phase radial load flow problem,” pre-
of various DG types, such as exciter control mode or inverter sented at the IEEE Winter Power Meeting, New York, NY, USA, Jan.
1976, no. A76 044-8.
control mode is desirable. [21] T. H. Chen, M. S. Chen, K. J. Hwang, P. Kotas, and E. A. Chebli,
“Distribution system power flow analysis—A rigid approach,” IEEE
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[8] V. Ajjarapu and C. Christy, “The continuation power flow: A tool for
steady state voltage stability analysis,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. Hao Sheng received the B.E. degree from North
7, no. 1, pp. 416–423, Feb. 1992. China Electric Power University, Baoding, China,
[9] C. A. Canizares and F. L. Alvarado, “Point of collapse and continuation in 2003, and the M.S. degree from Northeast Dianli
methods for large AC/DC systems,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 8, University, Jilin, China, in 2007, both in electrical
no. 1, pp. 1–8, Feb. 1993. engineering. He is currently working toward the
[10] H. D. Chiang, A. J. Flueck, K. S. Shah, and N. Balu, “CPFLOW: A Ph.D. degree at Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
practical tool for tracing power system steady-state stationary behavior From 2007 to 2012, he was affiliated with
due to load and generation variations,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. R&D Center of Beijing SiFang Automation
10, no. 2, pp. 623–634, May 1995. Co., Ltd. working on application software for
[11] A. J. Flueck, H. D. Chiang, and K. S. Shah, “Investigating the installed EMS/WAMS/DSA. His current research interests
real power transfer capability of a large scale power system under a pro- include nonlinear systems theory and globally
posed multiarea interchange schedule using CPFLOW,” IEEE Trans. convergent methods and their applications to transmission and distribution
Power Syst., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 883–889, May 1996. systems analysis and control.
[12] X. P. Zhang, P. Ju, and E. Handschin, “Continuation three-phase
power flow: A tool for voltage stability analysis of unbalanced
three-phase power system,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 20, no. 3,
pp. 1320–1329, Aug. 2005. Hsiao-Dong Chiang (M’87–SM’91–F’97) received
[13] M. Abdel-Akher, “Voltage stability analysis of unbalanced distribu- the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and
tion systems using backward/forward sweep load-flow analysis method computer science from the University of California,
with secant predictor,” IET Gen., Transm. Distrib., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. Berkeley, CA, USA, in 1986.
309–317, 2012. He has been a Professor of electrical and computer
[14] A. Dukpa, B. Venkatesh, and M. EI-Hawary, “Application of continu- engineering with Cornell University, Ithaca, NY,
ation power flow method in radial distribution systems,” Electr. Power USA, since 1998. He holds 14 U.S. patents and sev-
Syst. Res.ems , vol. 79, pp. 1503–1510, 2009. eral consultant positions. He and his research team
[15] W. H. Kersting, Distribution System Modeling and Analysis. Boca have published more than 350 papers in refereed
Raton, FL, USA: CRC, 2000. journals and conference proceedings. He is author of
[16] R. Zimmerman, “Comprehensive distribution power flow: modeling, the book Direct Methods for Power System Stability
formulation, solution algorithms and analysis,” Ph.D. dissertation, Analysis: Theoretical Foundation, BCU Methodology and Applications (Wiley,
School of Electr. Comput. Eng., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, USA, 2010). His current research interests include nonlinear system theory, and their
1995. practical applications to electric circuits, systems, signals, and images.