The large scale electric power system as a distributed continuum

By modeling an electric power system of generators and transmissions lines as a continuum, a nonlinear partial differential equation is written which exhibits the travelling wave behavior that has been observed in experiments with synchronized phasor measurements. The fact that disturbances spread through the interconnected power system with a certain velocity of propagation is reasonable but not quantitatively well understood. The model relates the velocity of propagation to parameters in the distributed model. Numerical simulations of the continuum model are presented.