Power Flow Solution for Radial Distribution Networks

Power flow analysis on distribution systems is not having enough attention as
compared to transmission systems. Generally, distribution networks are radial and the
resistance to reactance ratio, R/X is high. By making use of the special structure of
radial network, a simple method is first developed to obtain the connection matrix and
hence the nodes beyond any specified branch, which is the branch-node matrix by using
the special structure of radial distribution network. The necessary formulas are derived
to calculate the receiving-end voltage in terms of the sending-end voltage and the
receiving-end line flows. At each and every of the iterations, receiving-end voltages are
updated by computing the line losses. The main aim of this project is to attain a simple
power flow method which is suitable for solving radial distribution networks and
develop the necessary MATLAB programme. The specially designed MATLAB
programme to solve radial distribution networks was successfully developed and tested
on several standard radial distribution networks. Meanwhile, Newton-Raphson power
flow method is developed to test the radial networks for strengthening the validity of the
results obtained. Besides, comparisons are made between both Newton-Raphson power
flow method and proposed approach. The proposed approach for radial distribution
network can be implemented on any practical data.