UNSW - SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ELEC4612 POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT 2

POWER FLOW ANALYSIS

1. AIM:
With the aid of the PowerWorld Simulator program, the objectives are:

To analyse the power flow in a simple power system network

To investigate voltage regulation via transformer tap changing or using shunt
capacitance compensation.
To study the effects of transformers or transmission lines in parallel.
To perform contingency analysis.

2. BACKGROUND:
Power flow analysis is a fundamental requirement for study of power systems. Successful
power system operation under steady-state conditions requires:

Generation supplies load demand plus losses.

Bus voltage magnitudes are close to rated values.
Generators operate within specified real and reactive power limits.
Transmission lines and transformers are not overloaded.

Power flow program such as the PowerWorld Simulator is the tool for investigating these
requirements. It computes voltage magnitude and angle at each bus. As a by-product, real and
reactive power flows and power losses in equipment (transmission lines, transformers) can
also be computed. The solutions require the use of iterative numerical techniques such as the
Gauss-Seidel method or the Newton-Raphson method to solve a set of nonlinear nodal
equations of the network.
Voltage regulation refers to the requirement of maintaining voltages within an acceptable level
at any point in the network. This can be achieved by various methods such as adjusting the
generator output, transformer tap changing, and compensation using capacitors. Synchronous
generators can be used to generate or absorb reactive power within their capacity limits. Tapchanging transformer is another popular method of voltage control. By adjusting the turns ratio,
its output voltage on the secondary winding can be varied to maintain the voltage control.
Injecting reactive power into the system from compensating apparatus is another effective way
to regulate the voltage. Shunt capacitors are commonly used to inject reactive power into
lagging-power factor circuits.
Contingency analysis uses a power flow solution, e.g. Newton-Raphson, to evaluate the impact
of contingencies in power systems. Power system planning and operating criteria often refer to
the N-1 rule which requires the system operate in a stable and secure manner following any
single transmission or generation outage. More stringent N-x (x>1) criteria extend to
multiple elements such as loss of a generator, several buses and lines simultaneously.

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3. SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS:

Figure 1: Single-line diagram of a seven-bus system

A 7-bus system consisting of 2 generators and 4 loads is shown in Figure 1. Two capacitor
banks are connected to bus 3 and bus 7 to regulate the bus voltages. Bus 1 is chosen to be the
swing (slack) bus (voltage = 1pu, angle = 0 deg.). Bus 2 is the voltage controlled bus (also
called PV bus) and its voltage is to be set to 1 pu.
Generator (at bus 1):
Max. MW Output = 100MW
Min. MW Output = 0 MW
Nominal voltage = 34.5 kV
Max. Mvar = 40 Mvar
Min. Mvar = -6 Mvar
Generator (at bus 2):
Max. MW Output = 100MW
Output MW power = 60MW
Min. MW Output = 0 MW
Nominal voltage = 34.5 kV
Max. Mvar = 40 Mvar
Min. Mvar = -6 Mvar
Transmission lines:
Lengths: L1= 500 km, L2= 100 km, L3= 300 km, L4= 200 km, L5= 100 km
Series resistance = 0.1019 /km
Reactance = 0.5912 /km
Nominal voltage = 345 kV
Rated power = 100 MVA
Transformers:
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Reactance = 0.1580 pu
Nominal voltage: 34.5/345 kV
Rated power = 150 MVA
Loads:
26 MW at bus 2
50 MW, 34 Mvar at bus 3
40 MW, 23 Mvar at bus 6
20 MW, 15 Mvar at bus 7
Switched shunt capacitors:
37 Mvar at bus 3
10 Mvar at bus 7
Construct the network one-line diagram according to the specifications given above. Choose
the base power of S base 100 MVA . Build the one-line diagram for this power system.

Procedure:
Part 1: Power flow solutions using iterative techniques
1.

Gauss-Seidel method:
Switch into the Run Mode. Solve the power flow of the system by the Gauss-Seidel
method step by step, and observe the convergence process. To solve the power flow
step by step, under Tools tab click on Simulator Options dialog and check the
Do Only One Iteration box.
The Bus Real and Reactive Power Mismatches lists the mismatches at each bus.
To display it, under Case Information Network click on Mismatches
To achieve the result quickly, uncheck the Do Only One Iteration box and increase
the Maximum Number of Iterations to 100 (since larger number of iterations is
required by the Gauss-Seidel method). To view the power flows of the entire system,
under Case Information tab click on Power Flow List.

2.

Newton-Raphson method:
Repeat step 1 above but solve the power flow by the Newton-Raphson method. The
Jacobian matrix can be displayed by selecting Case Information Solution
Details Power Flow Jacobian.

Part 2: Voltage regulation

3.

Now consider the case when only the generator at bus 1, the transformer between
buses 1 and 4, the transmission line between buses 3 and 4, and the load at bus 3 are
in-serviced. The rest of the system components are not in-serviced.
Set the reactive load at bus 3 to be zero. Increase the active load from 30MW to
70MW by 10 MW per step. Record the magnitudes (p.u.) and the angles (deg.) of the
voltages at buses 4 and 3. Work out the voltage drop (regulation).

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Set the active load at bus 3 to be 20 MW. Increase the reactive load from 0 to
30MVar by 10MVar per step. Record the magnitudes (p.u.) and the angles (deg.) of
the voltages at buses 4 and 3. Work out the voltage drop.
Before proceed to the next question, please turn all the other system components to
be in-serviced. Set the load at bus 3 back to 50MW, 34Mvar.
4.

Assume the voltage at the buses should be limited between 0.95 and 1.05p.u. Is there
any violation out of these bus voltage limitations? If the shunt capacitor bank at bus
3 is out of service, will there be any violations on the bus voltages?
(The bus voltage limits can be specified in the Case Information Limit
Monitoring Settings and Limit Violations dialog.)

5.

Record the bus voltage magnitudes at buses 3 and 4 when the amount of nominal
reactive for the shunt capacitor bank at the bus 3 is changed from 0 to 40MVar in
steps of 10Mvar. Note down the changes of the bus voltages and the system losses.
Comments on the results.
(The system losses can be observed in Case Information Case Summary for
Current Case.)

6.

Change the tap position of the transformer connected between buses 1 and 4, and
record the reactive power output of the generator at bus 1 and the voltage magnitudes
at buses 1, 4, and 3 for the tap positions at 0.95, 1 and 1.05. Comment on the results.

Part 3: Transformers or lines in parallel

7.

Change the tap ratio of transformer between buses 1 and 4 back to 1.0. Add a new
transformer between buses 1 and 4. The specifications of the new transformer are the
same as the existing one. Find out the power dispatch of these two transformers.
What if the reactance of the new transformer is twice of the existing one? Comment
on the results.

8.

Disconnect the new transformer between buses 1 and 4. The transmission line
between buses 3 and 4, and the shunt capacitor bank at bus 7 are out of service
because of an accident. How much load should be cut to maintain the voltage
magnitude of bus 3 above 0.95 p.u.? Comment on the reason why you choose to cut
that specified load.
Connect the transmission line between buses 3 and 4, and the shunt capacitor at bus
7 back before proceed to the next question.

9.

A new transmission line is installed between buses 3 and 4. The parameters of the
new transmission line are the same with the existing one. Find out its impacts on the
power flow of the transmission lines, the bus voltage magnitudes, and the total loss
of the system. Comment on the results.

Part 4: Contingency Analysis

10. Remember to remove the extra transmission line and transformer from the network.
PowerWorld Simulator offers a set of tools for contingency analysis. Click the Tools
tab and select Contingency Analysis. The simulator uses a full Newton-Raphson
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solution by default to perform the analysis. By using this simulator, the user can
determine whether the given system can still operate under an acceptable state in
certain contingencies. Assume the bus voltages should be maintained within 5% of
the rated voltage. Investigate whether the system will remain secure:
a.
b.
c.
d.

When the transmission line between buses 5 and 6 is out of service.

When the transmission line between buses 5 and 7 is out of service.
When the switched shunt at bus 3 is out of service
Click on Auto Insert, and choose automatically generate contingency
involving. a single transmission line or transformer.

4. DISCUSSION:
1. Comment on the relative merits of the Gauss-Seidel method and the Newton-Raphson
method in solving power flow problems.
2. How does the change of active and reactive power affect the bus voltages? Is there any
difference? Why?
3. Comment on the effects of the shunt capacitors and the transformer tap changing in the
system operation.
4. Comment on possible ways for improving the reliability of the system operation.

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