scholarly journals Accurate and Efficient Derivative-Free Three-Phase Power Flow Method for Unbalanced Distribution Networks

Computation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Oscar Danilo Montoya ◽  
Juan S. Giraldo ◽  
Luis Fernando Grisales-Noreña ◽  
Harold R. Chamorro ◽  
Lazaro Alvarado-Barrios

The power flow problem in three-phase unbalanced distribution networks is addressed in this research using a derivative-free numerical method based on the upper-triangular matrix. The upper-triangular matrix is obtained from the topological connection among nodes of the network (i.e., through a graph-based method). The main advantage of the proposed three-phase power flow method is the possibility of working with single-, two-, and three-phase loads, including Δ- and Y-connections. The Banach fixed-point theorem for loads with Y-connection helps ensure the convergence of the upper-triangular power flow method based an impedance-like equivalent matrix. Numerical results in three-phase systems with 8, 25, and 37 nodes demonstrate the effectiveness and computational efficiency of the proposed three-phase power flow formulation compared to the classical three-phase backward/forward method and the implementation of the power flow problem in the DigSILENT software. Comparisons with the backward/forward method demonstrate that the proposed approach is 47.01%, 47.98%, and 36.96% faster in terms of processing times by employing the same number of iterations as when evaluated in the 8-, 25-, and 37-bus systems, respectively. An application of the Chu-Beasley genetic algorithm using a leader–follower optimization approach is applied to the phase-balancing problem utilizing the proposed power flow in the follower stage. Numerical results present optimal solutions with processing times lower than 5 s, which confirms its applicability in large-scale optimization problems employing embedding master–slave optimization structures.

Author(s):  
Michel Duran-Quintero ◽  
John E. Candelo ◽  
Jose Soto-Ortiz

<span lang="EN-US">A three-phase unbalanced power flow method can provide a more realistic scenario of how distribution networks operate. The backward/forward sweep-based power flow method </span><span lang="EN-AU">(BF-PF)</span><span lang="EN-US"> has been used for many years as an important computational tool to solve the power flow for unbalanced and radial power systems. However, some of the </span><span lang="EN-AU">few </span><span lang="EN-US">available research tools produce many errors when </span><span lang="EN-AU">they </span><span lang="EN-US">are used for </span><span lang="EN-AU">network </span><span lang="EN-US">reconfiguration </span><span lang="EN-AU">because the </span><span lang="EN-US">topology change</span><span lang="EN-AU">s</span><span lang="EN-AU">after multiple switch actions</span><span lang="EN-US"> and the nodes are disorganized continually. </span><span lang="EN-AU">T</span><span lang="EN-US">his paper presents </span><span lang="EN-AU">a modified</span><span lang="EN-AU">BF-PF for </span><span lang="EN-US">three-phase unbalanced radial </span><span lang="EN-AU">distribution networks</span><span lang="EN-US"> that is capable </span><span lang="EN-AU">of arranging</span><span lang="EN-US"> the system topology when reconfiguration changes the branch connections. A binary search is used to determine the connections between nodes, allowing the algorithm to avoid those problems when reconfiguration is carried out, regardless of node numbers. Tests are made to verify the usefulness of the proposed algorithm in both the IEEE 13-node test feeder and the 123-node test feeder, converging in every run where constraints are accomplished. This approach can be used easily for a large-scale feeder network reconfiguration.</span><span lang="EN-AU"> The full version of this modified </span><span lang="EN-US">backward/forward sweep</span><span lang="EN-AU"> algorithm is available for research at MathWorks</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span>


Computation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
John Fernando Martínez-Gil ◽  
Nicolas Alejandro Moyano-García ◽  
Oscar Danilo Montoya ◽  
Jorge Alexander Alarcon-Villamil

In this study, a new methodology is proposed to perform optimal selection of conductors in three-phase distribution networks through a discrete version of the metaheuristic method of vortex search. To represent the problem, a single-objective mathematical model with a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) structure is used. As an objective function, minimization of the investment costs in conductors together with the technical losses of the network for a study period of one year is considered. Additionally, the model will be implemented in balanced and unbalanced test systems and with variations in the connection of their loads, i.e., Δ− and Y−connections. To evaluate the costs of the energy losses, a classical backward/forward three-phase power-flow method is implemented. Two test systems used in the specialized literature were employed, which comprise 8 and 27 nodes with radial structures in medium voltage levels. All computational implementations were developed in the MATLAB programming environment, and all results were evaluated in DigSILENT software to verify the effectiveness and the proposed three-phase unbalanced power-flow method. Comparative analyses with classical and Chu & Beasley genetic algorithms, tabu search algorithm, and exact MINLP approaches demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed optimization approach regarding the final value of the objective function.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11525
Author(s):  
Oscar Danilo Montoya ◽  
Luis Fernando Grisales-Noreña ◽  
Lázaro Alvarado-Barrios ◽  
Andres Arias-Londoño ◽  
Cesar Álvarez-Arroyo

This research addresses the problem of the optimal placement and sizing of (PV) sources in medium voltage distribution grids through the application of the recently developed Newton metaheuristic optimization algorithm (NMA). The studied problem is formulated through a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model where the binary variables regard the installation of a PV source in a particular node, and the continuous variables are associated with power generations as well as the voltage magnitudes and angles, among others. To improve the performance of the NMA, we propose the implementation of a discrete–continuous codification where the discrete component deals with the location problem and the continuous component works with the sizing problem of the PV sources. The main advantage of the NMA is that it works based on the first and second derivatives of the fitness function considering an evolution formula that contains its current solution (xit) and the best current solution (xbest), where the former one allows location exploitation and the latter allows the global exploration of the solution space. To evaluate the fitness function and its derivatives, the successive approximation power flow method was implemented, which became the proposed solution strategy in a master–slave optimizer, where the master stage is governed by the NMA and the slave stage corresponds to the power flow method. Numerical results in the IEEE 34- and IEEE 85-bus systems show the effectiveness of the proposed optimization approach to minimize the total annual operative costs of the network when compared to the classical Chu and Beasley genetic algorithm and the MINLP solvers available in the general algebraic modeling system with reductions of 26.89% and 27.60% for each test feeder with respect to the benchmark cases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharath Rao ◽  
Friederich Kupzog ◽  
Martin Kozek

Distribution networks are typically unbalanced due to loads being unevenly distributed over the three phases and untransposed lines. Additionally, unbalance is further increased with high penetration of single-phased distributed generators. Load and optimal power flows, when applied to distribution networks, use models developed for transmission grids with limited modification. The performance of optimal power flow depends on external factors such as ambient temperature and irradiation, since they have strong influence on loads and distributed energy resources such as photo voltaic systems. To help mitigate the issues mentioned above, the authors present a novel class of optimal power flow algorithm which is applied to low-voltage distribution networks. It involves the use of a novel three-phase unbalanced holomorphic embedding load flow method in conjunction with a non-convex optimization method to obtain the optimal set-points based on a suitable objective function. This novel three-phase load flow method is benchmarked against the well-known power factory Newton-Raphson algorithm for various test networks. Mann-Whitney U test is performed for the voltage magnitude data generated by both methods and null hypothesis is accepted. A use case involving a real network in Austria and a method to generate optimal schedules for various controllable buses is provided.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amitkumar Dadhania

Large-scale integration of Wind Generators (WGs) with distribution systems is underway right across the globe in a drive to harness green energy. The Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is an important type of WG due to its robustness and versatility. Its accurate and efficient modeling is very important in distribution systems planning and analysis studies, as the older approximate representation method (the constant PQ model) is no longer sufficient given the scale of integration of WGs. This thesis proposes a new three-phase model for the DFIG, compatible with unbalanced three-phase distribution systems, by deriving an analytical representation of its three major components, namely the wind turbine, the voltage source converter, and the wound-rotor induction machine. The proposed model has a set of nonlinear equations that yields the total three-phase active and reactive powers injected into the grid by the DFIG as a function of the grid voltage and wind turbine parameters. This proposed model is integrated with a three-phased unbalanced power flow method and reported in this thesis. The proposed method opens up a new way to conduct power flow studies on unbalanced distribution systems with WGs. The proposed DFIG model is verified using Matlab-Simulink. IEEE 37-bus test system data from the IEEE Distribution System sub-committee is used to benchmark the results of the power flow method.


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