MATPOWER: Steady-State Operations, Planning, and Analysis Tools for Power Systems Research and Education

Abstract: Cyber-physical systems integrate computation, communication, and physical capabilities to interact with the physical world and humans. Besides failures of components, cyber-physical systems are prone to malignant attacks, and specific analysis tools as well as monitoring mechanisms need to be developed to enforce system security and reliability. This paper proposes a unified framework to analyze the resilience of cyber-physical systems against attacks cast by an omniscient adversary. We model cyber-physical systems as linear descriptor systems, and attacks as exogenous unknown inputs. Despite its simplicity, our model captures various real-world cyber-physical systems, and it includes and generalizes many prototypical attacks, including stealth, (dynamic) false-data injection and replay attacks. First, we characterize fundamental limitations of static, dynamic, and active monitors for attack detection and identification. Second, we provide constructive algebraic conditions to cast undetectable and unidentifiable attacks. Third, by using the system interconnection structure, we describe graph-theoretic conditions for the existence of undetectable and unidentifiable attacks. Finally, we validate our findings through some illustrative examples with different cyber-physical systems, such as a municipal water supply network and two electrical power grids.

Abstract: Cyber-physical systems are ubiquitous in power systems, transportation networks, industrial control processes, and critical infrastructures. These systems need to operate reliably in the face of unforeseen failures and external malicious attacks. In this paper: (i) we propose a mathematical framework for cyber-physical systems, attacks, and monitors; (ii) we characterize fundamental monitoring limitations from system-theoretic and graph-theoretic perspectives; and (ii) we design centralized and distributed attack detection and identification monitors. Finally, we validate our findings through compelling examples.

Abstract: The emergence of synchronization in a network of coupled oscillators is a fascinating topic in various scientific disciplines. A widely adopted model of a coupled oscillator network is characterized by a population of heterogeneous phase oscillators, a graph describing the interaction among them, and diffusive and sinusoidal coupling. It is known that a strongly coupled and sufficiently homogeneous network synchronizes, but the exact threshold from incoherence to synchrony is unknown. Here, we present a unique, concise, and closed-form condition for synchronization of the fully nonlinear, nonequilibrium, and dynamic network. Our synchronization condition can be stated elegantly in terms of the network topology and parameters or equivalently in terms of an intuitive, linear, and static auxiliary system. Our results significantly improve upon the existing conditions advocated thus far, they are provably exact for various interesting network topologies and parameters; they are statistically correct for almost all networks; and they can be applied equally to synchronization phenomena arising in physics and biology as well as in engineered oscillator networks, such as electrical power networks. We illustrate the validity, the accuracy, and the practical applicability of our results in complex network scenarios and in smart grid applications.

Abstract: Historically, centrally computed algorithms have been the primary means of power system optimization and control. With increasing penetrations of distributed energy resources requiring optimization and control of power systems with many controllable devices, distributed algorithms have been the subject of significant research interest. This paper surveys the literature of distributed algorithms with applications to optimization and control of power systems. In particular, this paper reviews distributed algorithms for offline solution of optimal power flow (OPF) problems as well as online algorithms for real-time solution of OPF, optimal frequency control, optimal voltage control, and optimal wide-area control problems.

Abstract: Power-grid networks must be synchronized in order to function. A condition for the stability of the synchronous state enables identification of network parameters that enhance spontaneous synchronization—heralding the possibility of smart grids that operate optimally in real-world systems.

Abstract: Topics considered include characteristics of power generation units, transmission losses, generation with limited energy supply, control of generation, and power system security. This book is a graduate-level text in electric power engineering as regards to planning, operating, and controlling large scale power generation and transmission systems. Material used was generated in the post-1966 period. Many (if not most) of the chapter problems require a digital computer. A background in steady-state power circuit analysis is required.

Abstract: This paper describes a simple, very reliable and extremely fast load-flow solution method with a wide range of practical application. It is attractive for accurate or approximate off-and on-line routine and contingency calculations for networks of any size, and can be implemented efficiently on computers with restrictive core-store capacities. The method is a development on other recent work employing the MW-?/ MVAR-V decoupling principle, and its precise algorithmic form has been determined by extensive numerical studies. The paper gives details of the method's performance on a series of practical problems of up to 1080 buses. A solution to within 0.01 MW/MVAR maximum bus mismatches is normally obtained in 4 to 7 iterations, each iteration being equal in speed to 1? Gauss-Seidel iterations or 1/5th of a Newton iteration. Correlations of general interest between the power-mismatch convergence criterion and actual solution accuracy are obtained.

Abstract: The ac power flow problem can be solved efficiently by Newton's method. Only five iterations, each equivalent to about seven of the widely used Gauss-Seidel method, are required for an exact solution. Problem dependent memory and time requirements vary approximately in direct proportion to problem size. Problems of 500 to 1000 nodes can be solved on computers with 32K core memory. The method, introduced in 1961, has been made practical by optimally ordered Gaussian elimination and special programming techniques. Equations, programming details, and examples of solutions of large problems are given.

Abstract: This paper describes the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT), an open source Matlab and GNU/Octave-based software package for analysis and design of small to medium size electric power systems. PSAT includes power flow, continuation power flow, optimal power flow, small-signal stability analysis, and time-domain simulation, as well as several static and dynamic models, including nonconventional loads, synchronous and asynchronous machines, regulators, and FACTS. PSAT is also provided with a complete set of user-friendly graphical interfaces and a Simulink-based editor of one-line network diagrams. Basic features, algorithms, and a variety of case studies are presented in this paper to illustrate the capabilities of the presented tool and its suitability for educational and research purposes.