An APL Laboratory for Power System Engineering Education

Supplementary use of the digital computer in power-system engineering education can provide an effective learning environment for introductory as well as advanced studies. In addition, sufficient exposure to the computer as a design tool is consistent with the expanding application of these devices in power-system planning. Presented is an approach to the creation of such a learning situation through application of an APL interactive programming system. Present instructional modules are oriented towards load-flow, fault, and transient-stability analyses, but may also be applied to other system problems which can be formulated in a bus frame of reference. Students utilizing this system in a computation session are required to define or set-up a problem, analyze results and to decide upon and evaluate any proposed system modifications. A portion of the material presented was developed with the support of the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Mines under USBM Grant G0155003.