A generic power flow formulation for flexible modeling and fast solving for large-scale unbalanced networks

Abstract

This paper proposes a new three-phase power flow formulation for fast solving and systematic modeling based on generic formulation and modular approach. In this method, each component of the system is modeled independently as a subsystem while extra-equations are added to establish the connection between components. The augmented system equations are solved using Newton-like method and KLU sparse matrix solver. The mismatch equations are formulated with dynamic parameters to avoid the repetitive symbolic factorizations required after each change in nonzero pattern of the Jacobian matrix. Compared to conventional solution methods, the proposed solution is faster and offers greater modeling flexibility, which makes it more efficient for simulating complex and large-scale networks. The IEEE standard 34-bus and 8500-bus are used as test systems to evaluate the numerical performance, the convergence characteristics, and the accuracy of the results. The comparison with the traditional power flow methods shows significant reduction of resolution time without compromising on solution accuracy.