Nonsy load flow: Smart grid load flow using non-synchronized measurements

This paper presents a novel algorithm for load flow analysis in smart grids, using non-synchronized measurements collected at the main substation and at the terminals of Distributed Generators (DGs) and microgrids. This allows the use of already available measurements along with a proper communication system to calculate the magnitude and phase angle of nodal voltages, power flow in each branch, power injected by each electricity source, and system losses. The proposed non-synchronized measurements-based load flow (Nonsy load flow) algorithm is based on the conventional backward-forward sweep and it considers the synchronization angles as unknown variables to be calculated. Simulation studies on a smart grid model with several DG units and microgrids validate the performance of the proposed method. In all the studied cases, the load flow results are accurate and the unknown synchronization angles are precisely calculated as a byproduct of the algorithm without any significant extra computational effort. The calculated synchronization angles can satisfy the need of other smart grid applications requiring synchronized measurements.