IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution

Research Article

Convergence analysis of implicit Z-bus power

flow method for general distribution
networks with distributed generators

ISSN 1751-8687
Received on 17th September 2014
Revised on 15th August 2015
Accepted on 16th September 2015
doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd.2015.0679
www.ietdl.org

Tian-Qi Zhao 1, Hsiao-Dong Chiang 2 , Kaoru Koyanagi 3

1

School of Electrical Engineering & Automation, Tianjin University, Peoples Republic of China
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
3
Environment Research Institute, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: hc63@cornell.edu
2

Abstract: Implicit Z-bus distribution power flow method may encounter divergence problems when applied to distribution
systems with distributed generators modelled as P-V nodes. In this study, analysis of divergence problems associated with
the implicit Z-bus method is performed. Physical insights toward the divergence problem are also provided. To this end,
the iterative map of the implicit Z-bus method is first derived. Then the fix-point theorem and the non-linear discrete
stability theorem are applied to perform convergence/divergence analysis of the implicit Z-bus power flow method. The
authors apply the derived analytical results to conduct divergence analysis of the IEEE 13-bus, and a practical 1101node distribution networks.

Introduction

Distribution power ow study is a fundamental steady-state analysis

of distribution network and plays an important role in various
applications in distribution automation to ensure the operating and
engineering constraints are satised. Indeed, voltage violations due
to the presence of distributed generations (DGs) can considerably
limit the amount of power supplied by these DGs. It becomes
necessary to develop dedicated analysis tools for evaluating the
impacts of DGs on distribution networks.
By taking advantage of special feature of the radial nature,
backwardforward sweep-based algorithms are a popular approach
for distribution network. Shirmohammadi et al. [1] developed a
new iterative compensation power ow method for solving
balanced weakly meshed distribution networks. In [2, 3], the
compensation-based power ow method is extended to three-phase
unbalanced system with dispersed generations. Besides the above
approaches, several power ow solution algorithms have also been
proposed based on the radial nature [4, 5]. The implicit Z-bus
method works well on conventional unbalanced distribution
networks with radial or weekly meshed structure and with DGs
modelled as P-Q nodes [6]. The convergence rate of implicit
Z-bus method is comparable with NewtonRaphson approach if
the only voltage specied node is the substation node. With
development and deployment of DG distributed network tends to
involve more P-V nodes. In this scenario, the implicit Z-bus
method encounters divergence problems.
Discrete controls such as load tap-changing transformers and
shunt capacitors can be adjusted iteratively during the process of
power ow computation. Reference [7] analysed this problem and
proposed a sensitivity approach to model the effects of load tap
changing transformers, switched capacitors and DGs, and
demonstrates its application in the implicit Z-bus method for
power ow computation. A three-stage homotopy-enhanced power
ow methodology to enhance the convergence property of implicit
Z-bus method was proposed in [8]. It has shown that the
homotopy-enhanced implicit Z-bus method had good convergence
property in three-phase unbalanced distribution system with DGs
modelled as P-V nodes. However, analytical results addressing the
divergence issue associated with the implicit Z-bus method are
still missing. This paper does not advocate the use of implicit
Z-bus method to solve general power ow problems. Instead it

412

advocates analysis of numerical problems when a power ow

method fails and advocates the development of a theory-based
scheme to enhance the convergence of the power ow method.
Indeed, this paper shows numerical reasons why the implicit Z-bus
method fails and how to x it when applied to DGs modelled as
P-V nodes. The approach proposed in this paper can also be
applied to Newton method or modied Newton method when
these methods fail.
This paper develops analytical results and numerical results for
explaining the divergence problem of applying the implicit Z-bus
method to general distribution networks with DGs modelled as
P-V nodes. To this end, the following analytical results as well as
numerical results are developed to provide insights on the
divergence problem:
(i) The iterative map associated with the implicit Z-bus power ow
method is derived.
(ii) A non-linear x-point theorem is applied to perform
convergence/divergence analysis of the implicit Z-bus power ow
method to general distribution networks with DGs modelled as
P-V nodes.
(iii) The non-linear discrete stability theorem is used to explain the
convergence/divergence of the implicit Z-bus method.
(iv) The derived analytical results are illustrated on the IEEE
13-bus, and a practical 1101-node distribution networks to conrm
our observations that implicit Z-bus method is suitable for a
distribution network with P-Q specied nodes or P-Q(V) nodes
and only one P-V bus (at the substation); it however suffers from
the divergence problem with several DGs modelled as P-V nodes.

DGs in power flow study

With the development of renewable energies, DGs, such

generation, fuel cells, photovoltaic, become popular
distribution power system. A summary of models for
shown in Table 1. Depending on the interface and control
DG may be operated in one of the following modes:

as wind
in the
DGs is
status, a

(i) In parallel operation with the feeder, that is, the generator is
located near and designated to supply a large load with xed real
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
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Table 1 Summary of models for DGs

Table 2 DGs installed in the IEEE 13-bus, IEEE 37-bus, IEEE 123-bus,
IEEE 8500-bus and a practical 1101-node distribution networks

DG type

Utility interface

wind turbine

solar photovoltaic
and energy storage
system
fuel cell
micro turbine
combined heat and
power

Node
type

asynchronous generator
direct-drive synchronous generator
DFIG
power converter

P-Q(V)
P-Q

power converter
power converter
synchronous
AV
generator
constant reactive
power control or
constant power factor
control
asynchronous generator

P-V
P-V
P-V
P-Q

P-V

P-Q(V)

and reactive power output. The net effect is the reduced load at a
particular location (P-Q node).
(ii) To output power at a specied power factor (P-Q node).
(iii) To output specied real power and variable reactive power [P-Q
(V) node].
(iv) To output power at a specied terminal voltage (P-V node).

The implicit Z-bus method is suitable for distribution networks

with many P-Q specied nodes or P-Q(V) nodes and only one
P-V bus at the substation. This method however suffers from the
divergence problem with several DGs modelled as P-V nodes and
it is unclear why the divergence problem arises.

Distribution power flow with DGs

We consider the following set of power ow equations represented

for general distribution networks with DGs modelled as P-V buses
I = Y bus V

(1)

where the vector V is node voltages, I is the vector of nodal current

injection and Ybus is the nodal admittance matrix for the network
containing all constant Z elements (including constant Z loads).
The collection of network buses can be partitioned into source,
denoted by <1>, PV buses (such as cogenerators and DGs),
denoted by <2> and remaining buses, denoted by <3>

Y 11
I1
I 2 = Y 21
I3
Y 31

Y 12
Y 22
Y 32

Y 13
V1
Y 23 V 2
Y 33
V3

(2)

We consider the following two cases:

Case 1: no constant power device
If the network contains no constant power device components,
then I3 is a known constant injection and V3 can be found directly
from the following
V 3 = Y 33 1 (I 3 Y 31 V 1 Y 32 V 2 )

Distribution network

IEEE 13-bus
IEEE 37-bus
IEEE 123-bus
IEEE 8500-bus
1101-node distribution network

P-Q mode

P-V mode

P, kW

Q, kvar

P, kW

Voltage, pu

200.0
160.0
200.0
210.0
127.8

120.0
120.0
120.0
101.7
42.0

200.0
160.0
200.0
210.0
127.8

1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0

is smaller than some tolerance, the solution is then obtained.

Hence, the solution strategy is to replace non-linear elements
(constant S) with linear equivalents (current injection) at present
voltage and then solve for voltages directly using nodal method
for linear circuits.
We next illustrate the applicability of the implicit Z-bus method to
the standard test systems IEEE 13-bus, IEEE 37-bus, IEEE 123-bus,
IEEE 8500-bus and a practical 1101-node distribution network. For
each of the test system, the popular implicit Z-bus method succeeds
in obtaining the power ow solution with dispersed generations
modelled as P-Q nodes. However, when the implicit Z-bus method
is applied to the standard test systems with P-V nodes, then
divergence of power ow calculation occurs. The DGs installed in
the IEEE 13-bus, IEEE 37-bus, IEEE 123-bus, IEEE 8500-bus and
a practical 1101-node distribution network are listed in Table 2.
The diagram of the IEEE 13-bus system is shown in Fig. 1. A DG
modelled as a PV node is added on node #611. The popular implicit
Z-bus method fails in obtaining the power ow solution as shown in
Fig. 2. We examine the convergence property of the implicit Z-bus
method for solving the network with a DG modelled as PV node
in IEEE 13-bus system. As can be seen from Table 3, of 12 cases,
the Z-bus method diverges on nine cases.
For the IEEE 37-bus, IEEE 123-bus, IEEE 8500-bus and a
practical 1101-node distribution network, a DG modelled as a PV
node is added on node #713 (of the 37-bus), #34 (of 123-bus),
#m1069148 (of the 8500-node) and #1373 (of the 1101-node
network). The implicit Z-bus method diverges in all of these four
cases, as shown in Fig. 3. These numerical studies conrm our
observations that the implicit Z-bus method is suitable for a
distribution network with many P-Q specied nodes or P-Q(V)
nodes and only one P-V bus (at the substation); it however suffers
from the divergence problem with several DGs modelled as P-V
nodes. We next present analytical results to validate this observation.

Theoretical analysis via contraction map

To analyse the convergence of an iterative power ow method, we

formulate power ow equations as follows. Given G: R n R n,

(3)

This is a direct solution using nodal method for linear circuits.

Case 2: constant power device
If network has constant S components, then these elements can be
linearised by replacing them with equivalent current injections based
on an estimate of the bus voltages. In this case, I3 is a function of V3
V 3 = Y 33 1 (I 3 (V 3 ) Y 31 V 1 Y 32 V 2 )

(4)

The Gauss method can be applied to solve this equation by

repeatedly updating V3, evaluating the right-hand side using the
most recent value of V2. When the change in V3 between iterations
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

Fig. 1 IEEE 13-node feeder

413

Fig. 2 Voltage mismatch on node #633 versus the number of iterations on the modied IEEE 13-bus system

nd x* R n such that
G(x ) = x

(5)

where G is related to F through the following property: if x* is a xed

point of the map G, then F(x*) = 0. Hence, iterative methods for
nding solutions of (5) can be represented as follows.
Given x (0) R n, perform the following procedure until
convergence
x(k+1) = G(x(k) )

(6)

For analysing the convergence property of an iterative method, the

following denition and theorem are useful.
Denition 1: A mapping G: D , R n R n is contractive on a set
D
 a constant < 1 such that
 0 , D if  there exists
G(x) G(y) ax y for all x, y in D0 where  is a
suitable vector norm
The following
provides a sufcient condition for
 theorem
1
the sequence X k k=0 dened by the iterative map x (k+1) = G(x k)
converges to x*.
Theorem 1 (contraction map theorem): Let x* be a root of the iterative
map x = G(x). If there exists a neighbourhood S(x*, ) anda positive
constant (0, 1) such that G(x) G(x ) ax x , then the
 1
sequence X k k=0 dened by x (k+1) = G(x k) converges to x* for any
x (0) , S.

We next develop analytical results based on Theorem 1 for the

implicit Z-bus iterative method. We consider the power ow (2)
for all the nodes are modelled as P-Q buses. For the implicit Z-bus
method, we express the power ow equations as the following
iterative map

V i(k+1) =

Z ij

j=1

P j jQ j
= G(V (k) ) = U 1 L1 I(V (k) ) (7)
VR j(k) jVI j(k)

We next study the iterative map of the IEEE 13-bus system. The
implicit Z-bus method is applied to the IEEE 13-bus distribution
system with DGs modelled as P-Q nodes. A power ow solution
is obtained after seven iterations. We put the iterative sequence

and the solution into the expression G(V (k) ) G(V )/

(k)

V V  in order to check the sufcient condition of Theorem

1. The power ow solution is shown in Table 4 while the ratio
values
are presented
in Table
5. The ratio values of

 

G(V (k) ) G(V )/V (k) V  are all <1. From Theorem 1, the
implicit Z-bus iterative method hence converges to the solution.
If there are P-V buses, then the corresponding voltage magnitudes
need to be maintained at a specied value. Therefore, the values of
reactive power injections Q i and the phase angles i are to be updated
for each iteration via the following bus equations

Qi = Im{V i

414

650

611

680

652

675

684

diverge

diverge

diverge

diverge

diverge

634

633

646

645

632

692

18

diverge

diverge

diverge

diverge

Y ij V j }

j=1

and we have to maintain the voltage magnitude at specied value as

shown below

Table 3 Application of the implicit Z-bus method to the IEEE 13-bus test
system with a DG node modelled as P-V node. Of the 12 locations of
installing DGs, the method converges on three locations of P-V buses
while it diverges on nine locations of P-V buses
PV node/
location
Z-bus method
number of
iterations
PV node/
location
Z-bus method
number of
iterations

Vi =

V i

V(spec)

i
|V |

The convergence criterion is max

V i(k+1) V i(k)
, 1 for all PQ
buses, where is a predeterminedi voltage tolerance.
The power ow equations for P-V nodes are

V i(k+1) =

n

j=1, j=s

Z ij

sm

P j jQ j
Ps jQs
is
+
Z
VR j(k) jVI j(k) s=s0
VR s(k) jVI s(k)

(8)

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

Fig. 3 Voltage mismatch versus the number of iterations on the modied

a IEEE 37-bus
b IEEE 123-bus
c IEEE 8500-bus
d Practical 1101-node distribution network

Superscript s refers to the P-V nodes

Qs = Im[(VRs(k) jVIs(k) )

We next explain the convergence/divergence of the implicit Z-bus

power ow method using the theory of non-linear discrete
dynamic system. We consider the iteration procedure (6) as the
following class of autonomous non-linear discrete dynamic systems

Y sj (VR j(k) + jVI j(k) )]

j=1

Theoretical analysis via non-linear discrete map

[VRs(k) (Bsj VRj(k) + Gsj VIj(k) ) VIs(k) (Gsj VRj(k) Bsj VIj(k) )]

j=1

xk+1 = G(xk )

(9)
For the IEEE 13-bus distribution system with DGs modelled as P-V
nodes, the implicit
Z-bus methoddiverges.
As shown


 in Table 5, the
ratio value G(V (k) ) G(V (k+1) )/V (k) V (k+1)  is not always <1.
Table 4 Power flow solution of the IEEE 13-bus test system with a DG
node #633 modelled as P-Q node
Bus name

650
680
652
675
692
611
684
671
634
633
646
645
632

Phase A

Phase B

Phase C

Mag

Angle

Mag

Angle

Mag

Angle

1.000
0.940
0.937
0.933
0.940

0.939
0.940
0.912
0.960

0.959

0.00
6.91
6.91
7.18
6.91

6.94
6.91
3.34
3.34

3.36

1.000
0.971

0.974
0.971

0.971
0.917
0.965
0.946
0.951
0.964

120.00
122.63

122.82
122.63

122.63
122.63
122.63
123.19
123.00
122.65

1.000
0.882

0.879
0.882
0.878
0.879
0.882
0.894
0.941
0.942
0.941
0.940

120.00
115.29

115.34
115.29
115.21
115.24
115.29
117.32
117.32
117.26
117.27
117.30

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

(10)

where k Z, xk R n and G: R n R n is a vector-valued map. The

solution of (10) starting from x0 R n at k = 0, denoted by f(x0, ):
Z R n, is called an orbit (or trajectory) of (10). The solution of
the discrete dynamical system is an innite sequence xk that can be
obtained by successive applications of the map G, that is, xk = f
(x0, k) = G k(x0).
A point x* is a periodic point of period p if G p(x*) = x* and
G k(x*) x* for every k satisfying 0 < k < p. If x* is a periodic point
of period p, the sequence g = {x*, G(x*), , G p1(x*)} is a
periodic orbit or closed orbit of system (10). If x* has period one,
that is, G(x*) = x*, then x* is called a xed point of system (10). A
state vector x is called a regular point if it is not a xed point.
 

Table 5 Ratio value of G(V (k) ) G(V )/V (k) V  for the 13-bus
system with a DG node #633 modelled as P-Q node and P-V node
Iteration number k

network with P-Q

node
network with P-V
node

0.1157

0.1089

0.1692

0.1363

0.1628

0.1743

0.8215

2.4884

2.6807

1.1526

2.2978

3.7417

415

Fig. 4 Eigenvalues of G(V*) for IEEE 13-bus distribution system with DGs modelled as P-Q nodes satisfy the condition of Theorem 2. Hence, the implicit Z-bus
method has the local convergence property

Denition 2: A xed
 point x* is stable, if for
 each  > 0, there is =
() > 0 such that x0 x  , d implies xk x  , 1, k [ Z+ ,
and it is asymptotically
stable if it is stable and can be chosen such

that x0 x  , d implies lim xk = x . A xed point x* is called
unstable, if it is not stable. k1
When function G is continuous and differentiable, we say that a xed
point of (10) is hyperbolic if the Jacobian matrix at x*, denoted by
JG(x (*)), has no eigenvalues with modulus one.

In the following, we develop analytical results based on Theorem

2. In doing so, we rst derive the Jacobian matrix JG and the spectral
radius (JG(x (*))) associated with the implicit Z-bus iterative
methods. We consider the power ow (7) for all the nodes are
modelled as P-Q buses. Separating the voltage expression (7) into
the real and imaginary parts gives

VR i(k+1) =

j(k)
R

VI i(k+1) =

+ Q j VI j(k) ) X ij (P j VI j(k) Q j VR j(k) )

2

VR j(k) + VI j(k)

j=1

Theorem 2 (stability of xed point):

(i) A hyperbolic xed point is asymptotically stable if and only if
all the eigenvalues of its corresponding Jacobian have a modulus <1.
(ii) A hyperbolic xed point is unstable if at least one eigenvalue of
the Jacobian has a modulus >1.
(iii) If x* is an asymptotically stable xed point, then there exists a
neighbourhood S of x* such that S , D and, for any x (0) , S, the
iterates dened by (6) all lie in D and converge to x*.

n

Rij (P j V

n

Rij (P j V

j(k)
I

Q j VR j(k) ) + X ij (P j VR j(k) + Q j VI j(k) )

2

j=1

VR j(k) + VI j(k)

(11)
The Jacobian matrix of the iterative map G associated with the
implicit Z-bus method for distribution networks with DGs

Fig. 5 Some of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix associated with the iterative map of the implicit Z-bus method are >1.0; making the method diverge

416

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

Fig. 6 Divergence problem of the implicit Z-bus method on the practical distribution network can be explained using the eigenvalues of associated Jacobian
matrix of the iterative map. Indeed, some of the eigenvalues are >1.0 in magnitude. Theorem 2 can explain why the method diverges

where

modelled as P-Q nodes is derived as follows

G11 . . . G1n

..
..
G (V ) = ...
.
. Gij
Gm1 Gmn

VR i(k+1) VR i(k+1)
V j(k)
VI j(k)

R
=

i(k+1)
VI
VI i(k+1)
VR j(k)
VI j(k)

(12)

The elements of each sub-matrix can be derived as follows

2

A=

VR i(k+1) (Rij P j + X ij Q j )Vm j(k) 2VR j(k) HR

=
2
VR j(k)
Vm j(k)

B=

VR i(k+1) (Rij Q j X ij P j )Vm j(k) 2VI j(k) HR

=
2
VI j(k)
Vm j(k)

(13)

(14)

HR = Rij (P j VR j(k) + Q j VI j(k) ) X ij (P j VI j(k) Q j VR j(k) )

(17)

HI = Rij (P j VI j(k) Q j VR j(k) ) + X ij (P j VR j(k) + Q j VI j(k) )

(18)

We apply Theorem 2 and utilise numerical properties of the

eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix JG associated with the implicit
Z-bus iterative method to derive the following two facts.
Fact 1: For general unbalanced distribution power ow equations
with all nodes except the substation modelled as P-Q nodes, the
eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix JG associated with the implicit
Z-bus method are all <1; making the implicit Z-bus method
converge.
For IEEE 13-bus distribution system with DGs modelled as P-Q
nodes, the eigenvalues of G(V*) are all <1, as is shown in Fig. 4.
Theorem 2 asserts that the implicit Z-bus method has a local
convergence property. Indeed, with a proper initial condition lying
inside the convergence region of a power ow solution under the
method, the sequence constructed by the method converges to the
solution.

C=

VI i(k+1) ( Rij Q j + X ij P j )Vm j(k) 2VR j(k) HI

=
2
VR j(k)
Vm j(k)

(15)

D=

VI i(k+1) (Rij P j + X ij Q j )Vm j(k) 2VI j(k) HI

=
2
VR j(k)
Vm j(k)

(16)

Table 6 Power flow solution of the IEEE 13-bus test system with one
DG on node #633
Bus
type

Phase A
Volt
mag

P-Q
P-V

0.960
0.999

Phase B

Phase C

Reactive
power,
kvar

Volt
mag

Reactive
power,
kvar

Volt
mag

Reactive
power,
kvar

120.0
1982.4

0.965
0.999

120.0
1994.4

0.941
0.999

120.0
2463.4

Fig. 7 QV curve of #633 bus for the IEEE 13-node test system during the
computational procedure of a homotopy-enhanced power ow method

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420

& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

417

modelled as P-V nodes is more complicated and the derivation

results are presented in the Appendix.
Fact 2: For general unbalanced distribution network power
ow equations with DGs modelled as P-V nodes, not all the
eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix JG for implicit Z-bus
iterative methods are <1; making the implicit Z-bus method
diverge.

For the IEEE 13-bus distribution system with a DG modelled as

P-V node on node #633, not all the eigenvalues of G(V*) are <1,
as is shown in Fig. 5. According to Theorem 2, the implicit Z-bus
iterative method diverges for this case.
We study a practical power distribution network with 1101 nodes.
In this distribution network, we connect a DG to node #1373 and
model it as a P-V node. Some of the eigenvalues of as shown in
Fig. 6 are >1.0 in magnitude. According to Theorem 2, the
implicit Z-bus method diverges in this case.
From Facts 1 and 2, we conclude that for the distribution power
network with all nodes modelled as P-Q nodes the power ow
solution xPQ is a stable xed point of map GPQ, whereas for the
network with P-V nodes the solution xPV is an unstable xed
point of implicit Z-bus iteration map GPV. This provides
analytical insights for the divergence/convergence of implicit
Z-bus method.
The physical explanation for the divergence of the implicit Z-bus
method is presented in the following. For the IEEE 13-bus
distribution system, one DG is added on node #633. The power
ow solutions with DG modelled as P-Q node and P-V node (the
specied voltage is 1.0 pu) are summarised in Table 6. The QV
curve is plotted in Fig. 7. Physically speaking, a large amount of
reactive power is needed in order to maintain the specied
magnitude of voltages. In this case, even a small voltage increase
requires a large reactive power injection. This large reactive
requirement is challenging in the context of convergence region
for the implicit Z-bus method to converge. Fig. 8 shows the
procedure of the implicit Z-bus method failing in obtaining a
power ow solution.
We next add a DG modelled as P-V node on #652. The specied
positive sequence voltage at this node is 0.9300 pu which is close
to the voltage when this DG node modelled as a P-Q node (0.9290
pu). The homotopy-enhanced implicit Z-bus method [8] was
applied to solve this case. As shown in Table 7, the implicit
Z-bus method diverges while the homotopy-enhanced implicit
Z-bus method converges, although the requirement of reactive
power needed to maintain the specied voltage magnitude is
small.
For the 1101-node test system, ve DGs were connected to the
network with specied positive sequence voltages at these nodes
being 1.0 pu. The power ow solutions with DGs modelled as P-Q
nodes (obtained by the implicit Z-bus method) and P-V nodes
(obtained by the homotopy-based method) are summarised in
Table 8.
When multiple DGs were connected to the network, during the
homotopy procedure the reactive power requirement at #1296 bus
always increases but the reactive power injection at #1373 bus rst
increases and then decreases until all the P-V nodes reach the
specied value. This requirement of reactive power support is
complicated and it indeed affects the convergence property of the
implicit Z-bus method.

Fig. 8 Reactive power injection on node #633 versus the number of

iterations during the procedure of the implicit Z-bus method. The required
reactive power increases signicantly with the number of iterations needed
for a possible convergence

Table 7 Comparison between the implicit Z-bus method and

homotopy-enhanced implicit Z-bus method to solve IEEE 13-bus system
with DG modelled as P-Q node and P-V node
Method

Node
type

Va,
Vspec

Qa,
kvar

Number
of
iterations

implicit Z-bus method

P-Q
P-V
P-V

0.929
0.930
0.930

6.0

13.96

7
diverge
10

Bus
number

#652

homotopy-enhanced
implicit Z-bus method

The power ow equations for P-V nodes are expressed in

(8). Separating the voltage expression into real and imaginary parts
gives
VR i(k+1) =

n

Rij (P j V

j(k)
R

+ Q j VI j(k) ) X ij (P j VI j(k) Q j VR j(k) )

2

VR j(k) + VI j(k)

j=1

sm

Ris (P s V

s(k)
R

+Q s VI s(k) ) X is (P s VI s(k) Q s VR s(k) )

2

VR s(k) + VI s(k)

s=s0

VIm i(k+1) =

n

Rij (P j V

j(k)
I

VR j(k) + VI j(k)

sm

Ris (P s V

Q j VR j(k) ) + X ij (P j VR j(k) + Q j VI j(k) )

j=1

s(k)
I

Q s VR s(k) )+X is (P s VR s(k) + Q s VI s(k) )

2

VR s(k) + VI s(k)

s=s0

(19)
Superscript s refers to the P-V nodes.
The Jacobian matrix of the iterative map associated with the
implicit Z-bus method for distribution networks with DGs
Table 8 Power flow solution of 1101-node network with five DGs
Bus number

Modelled as P-Q nodes

Va

1373
1296
1092
1099
1138

418

0.922
0.922
0.881
0.807
0.925

Modelled as P-V nodes

Vb

Vc

Qa, kvar

Qb, kvar

Qc, kvar

Va

Vb

Vc

Qa, kvar

Qb, kvar

Qc, kvar

0.937
0.923
0.798
0.788
0.927

0.935
0.930
0.856
0.858
0.928

42
42
42
42
42

42
42
42
42
42

42
42
42
42
42

1.0
0.999
1.0
0.999
1.0

1.0
0.999
1.0
1.0
1.0

1.0
0.999
1.0
1.0
1.0

3471
8761
2773
1022
5031

3644
9869
3079
916.1
4621

3691
9899
1893
56.9
5026

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

Conclusion

This paper has presented analytical and numerical results to explain

the divergence problem when the implicit Z-bus method is applied to
general distribution networks with DGs modelled as P-V nodes. In
doing so, we have derived the iterative map associated with the
implicit Z-bus method. We have applied the contraction map
theorem and the non-linear discrete stability theorem to perform
convergence/divergence analysis of the implicit Z-bus power ow
method. We have illustrated the analytical results on the IEEE
13-bus, and a practical 1101-node distribution networks to validate
our observations that implicit Z-bus method suffers from the
divergence problem with several DGs modelled as P-V nodes.

Appendix

The Jacobian matrix of the implicit Z-bus iterative equation with P-V
nodes G is presented as follows
G11

G (V ) = ...
Gm1

VR i(k+1)
VI j(k)

VI i(k+1)
VI j(k)

Superscript s refers to the P-V nodes.

When i s, j s

Acknowledgments

sm

VR i(k+1)
(Ris VIs + X is VRs ) Qs
=
A
+
j
2
2
j(k)
VR
VRs + VIs
VR
s=s0

This work was partly supported by the National High-Technology

Research and Development Program (863 Program) of China
(2014AA051901), partly supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (51337007) and the National Science
Foundation of USA (1225682).

VR i(k+1)
. . . G1n
V j(k)

R
..
..
.
. Gij =
VI i(k+1)
Gmn
VR j(k)

=A+

sm

(Ris V s + X is V s )
I

VRs + VIs
2

s=s0

(VRs Bsj VIs Gsj )

sm

VR i(k+1)
(Ris VIs + X is VRs ) Qs
=
B
+
j
2
2
j(k)
VI
VRs + VIs
VI
s=s0

References
Shirmohammadi, D., Hong, H.W., Semlyen, A., et al.: A compensation-based
power ow method for weakly meshed distribution and transmission networks,
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13, (3), pp. 130138

=B+

sm

(Ris V s + X is V s )
I

VRs + VIs
2

s=s0

(VRs Gsj VIs Bsj )

sm

VI i(k+1)
(Ris VRs + X is VIs ) Qs
=
C
+
j
2
2
VR j(k)
VRs + VIs
VR
s=s0

=C+

sm

(Ris VRs + X is VIs ) s sj
(VR B VIs Gsj )
s2
s2
V
+
V
s=s0
R
I

sm

VI i(k+1)
(Ris VRs + X is VIs ) Qs
=
D
+
j
2
2
VI j(k)
VRs + VIs
VI
s=s0

=D+

sm

(Ris VRs + X is VIs ) s sj
(VR G VIs Bsj )
s2
s2
V
+
V
s=s0
R
I

When i s, j = s (see equation at the bottom of page and also

next page)

sm

VR i(k+1)
(Ris VIs + X is VRs ) Qs
=
j
2
2
VR j(k)
VRs + VIs
VR
s=s0 , s=ss

(Ris Pss + Riss VImss Qrss + Xiss Qss + Xiss VRess Qrss )Vm ss (k) 2VR s(k) HR
Vm ss (k)

sm

VR i(k+1)
(Ris VIs + X is VRs ) Qs
=
j
2
2
VI j(k)
VRs + VIs
VI
s=s0 , s=ss

(Riss Qss + Riss VImss Qiss Xiss Pss + Xiss VRess Qiss )Vm ss (k) 2VR s(k) HR
Vm ss (k)

sm

VI i(k+1)
( Ris VRs + X is VIs ) Qs
=
j
2
2
j(k)
VR
VRs + VIs
VR
s=s0 ,s=ss

(Riss Qss Riss VRess Qrss + Xiss Pss + Xiss VImss Qrss )Vm ss (k) 2VR s(k) HI

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016

Vm ss (k)

419

where the sub-matrices are derived as follows

where

Qrss =

Qiss =

n
Qss
s
s
(Bsj VRj + Gsj VIj ) + Bsss VRs Gsss VI s
ss =
VR
j=1

VR i(k+1)
,
VR j(k)

n
Qss
s
s
(Bsj VIj Gsj VRj ) + Bsss VI s + Gsss VRs
ss =
VI
j=1

Qi = Im{V i

VI i(k+1)
VR i(k+1)
VI i(k+1)
,
,
j(k)
j(k)
VR
VI
VI j(k)

It is noted that, if i s, the associated sub-matrices have the same

expressions as

Y ij V j }

j=1

VR i(k+1)
,
VR j(k)

Note that the voltage magnitude at the P-V nodes needs to be

maintained at specied value V i = (V i/|V i|) |V(spec)|. Hence if i = s

VI i(k+1) VR i(k+1)
,
,
VR j(k)
VI j(k)

VI i(k+1)
VI j(k)

VR s(k+1)

VR s(k+1) = 
2
2
VR s(k+1) + VI s(k+1)

VI s(k+1)

VI s(k+1) = 
2
2
VR s(k+1) + VI s(k+1)

sm

VI i(k+1)
(Ris VRs + X is VIs ) Qs
=
j
2
2
j(k)
VR
VRs + VIs
VI
s=s0 ,s=ss

420

(Riss Pss Riss VRess Qiss + Xiss Qss + Xiss VImss Qiss )Vm ss (k) 2VR s(k) HI
Vm ss (k)

IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 412420
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2016