An efficient unbalanced load flow for distribution networks

Abstract

This paper presents a new unbalanced three-phase load flow solution technique for electric power distribution systems (DS). A new matrix formulation is utilized to develop the proposed Distribution Load Flow (DLF) approach. The proposed algorithm is composed of two forward sweep steps; unlike conventional backward forward sweep approach. Here, the traditional backward sweep step is replaced by a novel forward sweep step. The bus voltages are determined in the first forward sweep and branch currents are calculated in the second forward sweep. In this paper, the DLF formulation is presented for balanced and unbalanced radial networks. Simulation results prove the accuracy of the proposed method with excellent convergence characteristics for distribution networks with varied complexity and size. Results obtained with the proposed method are compared with other methods, and it is found that the proposed approach has made the algorithm faster than the other contemporary methods.