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Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

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A three-phase power ow algorithm for distribution system

power ow based on loop-analysis method
W.C. Wu *, B.M. Zhang
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Received 5 September 2006; received in revised form 29 May 2007; accepted 3 June 2007

Abstract
Based on loop-analysis method, a theoretical formulation of the forward/backward sweep with compensation power ow method is
presented. The reason, why the convergence of this widely used method deteriorates when the network becomes more meshed, is also well
analyzed. Subsequently, a novel solution of unbalanced three-phase power systems based on loop-analysis method is developed in this
paper. The convergence speed of this algorithm remains very well even when network become more meshed. Furthermore, the implementation of this algorithm is similar with that of the forward/backward sweep with compensation method with the characteristic of
understandability. This proposed method has clear theory foundation and takes full advantage of the radial (or weakly meshed) structure
of distribution systems. The numerical test proves this new method is very robust and has excellent convergence characteristics.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Loop-analysis method; Unbalanced power ow; Weakly meshed network

1. Introduction
Power ow method is a fundamental tool in application
software for distribution management system. In the past
decades, a mass of methods to solve the distribution power
ow problem have been developed and well documented
[110]. These methods can be roughly categorized as node
based methods and branch based methods.
The rst category [15] used node voltages or currents
injection as state variables to solve power ow problem.
In this category, the most notable methods include network
equivalence method [1], Z-bus method [2], NewtonRaphson algorithm [35], fast decouple algorithm [6,7]. The second category adopted branch currents or branch powers as
state variables to solve power ow problem. The backward/forward sweep based methods [8] and loop impedance methods [9] can be categorized in this group.

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wuwench@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (W.C. Wu).

0142-0615/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2007.06.005

A compensation based technique is proposed for weakly

meshed networks in Ref. [8]. This method takes advantage
of the radial (or weakly meshed) structure of distribution
systems, to achieve high speed, robust convergence and
low memory requirement. In Ref. [9], an improved version
of this method has been presented, in which the branch
power ows are used instead of the branch currents. However, a more ecient method is still needed to deal with
weakly meshed networks.
In a radial or weekly meshed distribution network analysis, the main concerns are the relationship between branch
ow and node injection ow. Ref. [10] also gives a concise
formula to formulate the relationship between branch ow
and node injection ow. The number of loops is much less
than nodes in a weakly meshed distribution network. Thus,
loop-analysis method is suitable for distribution network
analysis. In Ref. [13], a loop-ow based method for capacitor optimization in distribution systems is proposed.
Based on the loop-analysis method, a novel power ow
algorithm of unbalanced three-phase power systems is
developed in this paper. The advantage of this solution is

W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

very straightforward and its convergence remains very well

even when the network becomes more meshed.
Note that every variable in this paper is a complex vector with 3 1 and each element of matrix is 3 3 block in
complex domain for three-phase model.
2. Loop-analysis method
Loop-analysis method, which is suitable to be used in
weakly meshed network, was studied nearly 20 years ago
[11]. For a distribution network with N nodes, b branches
and m independent loops, then b = N  1 + m. If the network is radial, then m = 0 and b = N  1.
Path is an important concept in loop-analysis method.
Any node in a network, there is a path connecting this node
to a root node. The path for a node can be dened as the
set of branches along this route. In order to understand
loop-analysis method easily, some incident matrices
describing the topology of the distribution network are
dened below:
T is node-path incident matrix of n b, which is called
as path matrix. T(i, j) = 1 if branch j is on the path of
node i, otherwise T(i, j) = 0. Symbol + indicates that
branch j and path i are in the same direction, otherwise
 is used.
B is loop-branch incident matrix of m b, which is
called as loop matrix. B(i, j) = 1 if branch j is on the ith
loop, otherwise B(i, j) = 0. Symbol + indicates that
branch j and loop i are in the same direction, otherwise
 is used.

Fig. 1. A network with a tree and a link.

In formula (1), Tt, Bt and Tl, Bl are sub-matrices of T

and B, corresponding to tree and link branches,
respectively.
Because a path is dened as a set of tree branches, the
link branch sub-matrix Tl in Eq. (1) is always zero. Based
on the denition of branch direction given above, it can
be seen that Tt in Eq. (1) is an down triangular matrix with
non-zero 1

g is node current injection vector of n 1.

fb is branch current vector of b 1.
For a connected network, starting from the root nodes,
we number the nodes in the network using the width rst
search method (WFS) as described in Ref. [8]. All radial tree
branches can be ordered by this algorithm. Tree and link
branches are also identied in the network at the same time.
Thus, the tree and link branches can be identied and classied into two separate sets. The direction of a branch is
dened from a large number terminal node to a small number terminal node. The branch number is taken as the starting node number of the branch. Along this tree, a path from
any node to the root node can be determined and a loop can
be determined by closing a link on the tree. According to the
node-ordering rule and the denition of branch direction
given above, the non-zeros in matrix T are all 1 and centralize to the down triangular part. The direction of a link
branch is dened as the direction of the loop.
An example explaining this principle is given in Fig. 1
and the corresponding matrices are given in formula (1).
In Fig. 1, node 0 is the root node of the network. Thus
the path of node 5 includes branches 1, 3 and 5, and the
path of node 4 includes branches 1, 2 and 4. Branch 6 is
a link branch, which closes the single loop consisting of
branches 2, 6 and 3 in the network.

Node current injections in Fig. 1 can be denoted by vector g of n 1. According to Kirchhos current law [10],
branch current vector fb of b 1 can be expressed by
f b T T g BT f L ;

where fL is loop current vector of m 1 (loop current is

equivalent to link branch current in weakly meshed distribution network). It can be seen from Eq. (3) that the
branch current, fb, is the joint contribution of node current
injection g and loop current fL.
From Ohm law, we have
V b Z bf b :

Here, Vb is branch voltage vector of b 1, Zb is a diagonal matrix of branch impedance.

And from Kirchhos voltage law, we have
BV b 0:

From Eqs. (3)(5) given above, we can obtain

BZ b B T f

BZ b T T g 0:

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W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

Dening a loop impedance matrix of m m as

T

Z L BZ b B :

Loop current fL can be calculated by

T
f L Z 1
L BZ b T g:

Substitute Eq. (6) into Eq. (3) for branch current fb, and
then


T
g;
8
f b T T  BT Z 1
L BZ b T
It can also be observed from Eq. (8) that node current
injection g contributes branch current fb through tree
branch (rst term in bracket) and link branch (second term
in bracket).
For a radial network, m = 0 and b = n, the second term
in bracket of Eq. (8) is null, so in this case Eq. (8) becomes
Eq. (9) as given below. It can be seen from Eq. (9) that
branch current fb is linear combination of node current
injection g. Current injection gi of node i contributes to
branch current fb only through the branches along the path
from node i
f b T T g:

Formula (9) describes a back sweep process generally

used in calculation of radial branch current.
Once the branch current fb is calculated, node voltage V
can be calculated by forward sweep process as described
V TV b TZ b f b :

10

According to Eqs. (8) and (10), node voltage V can be

calculated if node current injection g is known.
Unfortunately, node power injections instead of node
current injections are known in power systems, so an iteration process is needed to solve power ow problem. In a
radial or weakly meshed distribution network, the number
of loops is much less than nodes, so loop based method
always has greater advantage than node based algorithm.
3. Discussion on backward/forward sweep with compensation
method
In this section, the backward/forward sweep with compensation method [8] is analyzed based on loop-analysis
method. And the reason, why the convergence of this
method deteriorates for more meshed network, is presented.
3.1. Backward/forward sweep with compensation method
To make this paper self-contained, the basic idea of
backward/forward sweep with compensation method proposed in Ref. [8] is shown in Fig. 2.
The algorithm shown in Fig. 2 can be described as
following:
(1) Converting the meshed network into a radial network
by means of selecting and opening all breakpoints.

Then calculate the breakpoint impedance matrix

(Thevenin equivalent impedance matrix) Zbrk based
on the multi-port compensation principle. Set k as
iteration count.
(2) Calculate nodal current: At iteration k, the node i
injection current, gki , is calculated as


k1
k1
gki S i =V i
 Y iV i
; i 1; 2; . . . ; n; 11
k1

where V i
is voltage at the node i and Si is the
power injection at node i. Yi is the sum of all the
shunt elements at node i.
(3) Backward sweep (calculate branch current): At iteration k, starting from the branches at the last layer and
moving towards the branches connected to the root
node. The current in branch l, Jl, is calculated as
X
J kl gki  I k1
J km :
brki
branch m connected with
node i and m! l
12
I k1
brki

is the breakpoint current calculated during the

(k  1)th iteration, if node i is just a breakpoint.
(4) Forward sweep (calculate nodal voltage): Nodal voltages are updated in a forward sweep starting from the
branches in the rst layer toward those in the last.
For each branch 1, the voltage at receiving node j is
calculated using the updated voltage at sending node
i of branch 1
V kj V ki  Z l J kl :

13
k
brk

Update the breakpoint voltage vector V

(Thevenin
equivalent voltage, shown in Fig. 3).
Steps (3) and (4) are repeated until convergence is
achieved (the maximum nodal voltage mismatch is
small enough).
(5) Update the breakpoint currents I kbrk at iteration k:
k
DI kbrk Z 1
brk V brk ;

140

k
I kbrk I k1
brk DI brk :

1400

(6) Steps (2)(5) are repeated until convergence is

achieved (the maximum breakpoint voltage mismatch
is small enough).
3.2. Formulation of the backward/forward sweep with
compensation method
Based on loop-analysis method, how the backward/forward sweep with compensation method performs in distribution network analysis is analyzed in this section.
(1) According to the denition of breakpoint impedance
matrix Zbrk, loop impedance matrix ZL is equivalent
to breakpoint impedance matrix Zbrk
Z brk Z L :

15

W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

11

Fig. 2. Computational ow chart of Ref. [8].

(4) According to the denition of breakpoint voltage

V kbrk (as shown in Fig. 3), can be formulated as
V kbrk BV kb BZ b f bk :

19

Substitute Eq. (17) into Eq. (19) for breakpoint voltage V kbrk , and then


V kbrk BZ b T T g k  B T I k1
brk :

Fig. 3. Breakpoint current using nodal current injections.

If all the breakpoints (as shown in Fig. 3) are located

on the terminal of link branches, breakpoint currents
Ibrk is identical to loop current IL (loop current is
equivalent to link branch current in weakly meshed
distribution network)
I L I brk :
16
(2) According to Eqs. (3) and (16), branch currents
updating formula (12) in backward/forward sweep
method is identical to
f bk

T k

T g 

B T I k1
brk :

17

(3) According to Eq. (10), the node voltages calculating

process, in backward/forward sweep method, is
equivalent to
V k TV kb TZ b f bk :

18

20

According to Eq. (14 0 ), incremental breakpoint currents

at iteration k can be formulated as

DI kbrk

1 k
V brk :
DI kbrk Z brk

21

Because of Zbrk = ZL, Eq. (21) can be rearranged as

k
DI kbrk Z 1
L V brk :

22

At the iteration k, the breakpoint currents can be

updated as
k
k1
1 k
I kbrk I k1
brk DI brk I brk Z L V brk :

23

Substitute Eq. (20) into Eq. (23) for the breakpoint currents I kbrk , and then
1
T k
T k1
I kbrk I k1
brk Z L BZ b T g  B I brk :

24

12

W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

f k1 T T g k :

Then, substitute Eq. (24) into Eq. (17)


 T k1

1
k
f b T T gk  BT I k2
 B T I k2
brk Z L BZ b B g
brk


1
T k2
T T gk  BT I k2
brk  Z L BZ b B I brk
T k1
:
 BT Z 1
L BZ b T g

Because

T
Z 1
L BZ b B

25

1, Eq. (25) can be rearranged as

T k1
:
f kb T T gk  B T Z 1
L BZ b T g

26

Formula (26) represents the process of calculation of

branch current f kb , during the iteration k in forward/backward sweep method. While in loop-analysis method, this
process is equivalent to Eq. (8). By comparing Eq. (26) with
Eq. (8), we can nd their dierence
T k
k1
Df kb B T Z 1
:
L BZ b T g  g

27

In the backward/forward sweep with compensation

method, an extra current mismatch Df kb is generated at
each iteration. Due to this mismatch, the convergence of
this method deteriorates when the loops of networks
increase.
4. Loop based power ow algorithm
From the conclusion drawn in the above section, we can
develop a new power ow method, which is similar with the
forward/backward sweep with compensation method. The
foundation of this new method is loop-analysis method,
and has better ability to deal with meshed network.
From Eqs. (8) and (10), a loop-analysis based power
ow method can be developed. The iteration process of this
new algorithm is very similar with the backward/forward
sweep with compensation method (named as previous
method in this paper), and has similar calculation steps.
Contrast to the computational ow of previous method
described in Section 3.1, this new algorithm can be
described as following:
(1) Converting the meshed network into a radial network
by means of selecting and opening all breakpoints.
Then calculate the breakpoint impedance matrix
(Thevenin equivalent impedance matrix) Zbrk. This
step is the same as previous method. Set k as iteration
count.
(2) Calculate nodal current gki : This step is the same as
previous method.
(3) Backward sweep (calculate branch current)
This step is dierent from that of previous method.
According to Eq. (8), the node current injection g
contributes branch current fb through tree branch
(rst term in formula) and link branch (second term
in formula)
T k
f kb T T gk  B T Z 1
L BZ b T g :

So this step is divided into two sub-steps:

(a) Calculate ctitious branch current f1

It is equivalent to a backward sweep process without

considering breakpoint current.
(b) Calculate another ctitious branch current f2
k
f k2 B T Z 1
L V L;

28

where
V kL BZ b T T gk BZ b f k1 :

29

k
1

In Eq. (29), Z b f is just equivalent to a forward sweep

process, so V kL can be calculated easily. When V kL is
known, a set of linear equations in the complex domain
can be solved easily to obtain the result of Eq. (28).
Thus, the actual branch current f kb f k1  f k2 are calculated.
(4) Forward sweep (calculate nodal voltage): This step is
the same as previous method.
(5) Update the breakpoint currents I kbrk : This step is the
same as previous method.
(6) Steps (2)(5) are repeated until convergence is
achieved (The maximum node voltage and breakpoint voltage mismatch is small enough).
The computational ow of this algorithm is similar with
that of backward/forward sweep with compensation
method except two modications:
(1) The calculation process of step (3) is changed.
(2) In the previous method, the steps (3) and (4) is
repeated at each iteration to obtain a radial network
load ow solution. While in this method, steps (3)
and (4) are only invoked once at each iteration.
This algorithm has clear theory foundation and has a
better ability to deal with meshed network. It will be further proved in numerical test.
5. The convergence of loop-analysis based power ow method
In this section, the convergence characteristics of the
loop-analysis based power ow method are to be proved.
From formula (8), branch currents fb can be calculated
from
f b I  B T Y L BZ b T T g Eg;
T

30

where E = (I  B Y LBZb)T .
From Ohm law, we have
Z 1
b V b f b:

31

Combine Eq. (30) with Eq. (31)

Z 1
b V b Eg:

32

The relationship between node voltages and branch

voltages can be formulated as
V TV b :

33

W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

At iteration k, the node current injection is calculated as

13

6. Numerical tests

k 

_ V_ :
g S=
k

If the precise node current injection and branch voltage

are denoted as g and Vb, respectively, the mismatch of node
current, at iteration k, is denoted as hY b ; V kb


hY b ; V kb g k  g S=V k  g:

34

Dene a function f Y b ; V kb as


f Y b ; V kb EhY b ; V kb ES=V k  Eg:

Substitute Eq. (32) into Eq. (35) for

f Y b ; V kb ,

35
and then

f Y b ; V kb ES=TV kb   Z 1
b V b:

36

Introduce Taylor series expansion into Eq. (36) and

omit the higher order terms, and then a Newtonian iteration formula is formulated as


@f
37
DV kb f Y b ; V kb 0:
@Vb
h i
@f
Dene: J @V
. Then
b


J @ES=TV kb  Z 1
b V b =@V b


k
Z 1
b @ES=TV b =@V b :

38

If omit the second term in Eq. (38), a simplied Jacobin

matrix J is gotten
J  Z 1
b :

39

From Eqs. (36), (38) and (39), we can get

k
Z 1
b DV b

k
ES=V k   Z 1
b V b:

40

Multiply Zb at both sides of Eq. (40), and then the incremental branch voltage at iteration k can be formulated as
k
DV kb Z b ES=V k   Z 1
b V b
T
k 
k
Z b I  BT Z 1
L BZ b T S=V  V b :

41

Thus, during the (k + 1)th iteration, the branch voltage

can be updated as


T
k
V k1
DV kb V kb Z b I  BT Z 1
b
L BZ b T S=V :

42

The proposed algorithm has been implemented in

C/C++, and three-phase power models are adopted. A
69-branch, 9-lateral PG&E distribution system [12] is used
to test the proposed method. (see Fig. 4) There are six link
breakers in the test system totally. When one of the link
breakers is closed, a new loop is formed in the system.
As listed in Table 1, more link breakers are opened, less
loops exist in the test system. Six cases are used to compare
the ability of the backward/forward sweep with compensation method to deal with meshed network with that of
loop-analysis based algorithm.
The test results of loop-analysis based algorithm are
compared with those of the backward/forward sweep with
compensation method. Some nodes voltages (Phase A) of
the test distribution system with ve loops are listed in
Table 2, which are calculated by the two algorithms,
respectively. From Table 2, we can see that the accuracy
of our method is the same with that of the backward/forward sweep with compensation method, and also proved
the feasibility of our method.
The total iteration numbers for each case are shown in
Fig. 5, which are gotten from the test results using the
two algorithms, respectively. Furthermore, the calculation
time of the two algorithms under dierent cases are showed
in Fig. 6. When the loops of test system increases, more
iteration numbers are needed in forward/backward sweep
with compensation method, while the iteration number
decreases in loop-analysis based method proposed in this
paper. Moreover, with the increase in the loops, the calculation time increases in forward/backward sweep with compensation method, while the calculation speed of the loopanalysis based algorithm remains almost constant.
In fact, the good qualities of the proposed algorithm can
be explained through the basic circuit theory. For a distribution system, when loops increase, the circuit distances
between loads and sources become shorter. Thus, the deviations of node voltage become smaller at each iteration,
when loops increase. When to deal with meshed network,
the loop based power ow method proposed in this paper
has greater advantage than the forward/backward sweep

According to Eq. (42), a method to solve power ow can

be developed. Its main iteration steps are described as
following:
(1) gk = (S/V k)*,
T k
(2) V k1
V kb DV kb Z b I  B T Z 1
b
L BZ b T g ,
k1
k1
(3) V
TV b .
Actually, the method proposed above, is identical to the
loop-analysis based power ow algorithm. From above, we
can conclude that the loop-analysis based power ow
method is just a form of Newton method with constant
Jacobin matrix mathematically. Because a constant Jacobin matrix is adopted in this method, this algorithm has
a linear convergence.

Fig. 4. A 69-branch, 9-lateral PG&E distribution system.

14

W.C. Wu, B.M. Zhang / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 30 (2008) 815

Table 1
Six cases of system congure

Table 3
The algorithms convergence properties under heavy load for six cases

Case no.

Loops

The link breakers are opened

Case

Load

Iteration number

Minimum voltage/maximum voltage

1
2
3
4
5
6

0
1
2
3
4
5

1220,
1220,
1220,
1220,
1220
None

1
2
3
4
5
6

3.15
5.5
5.95
7.35
7.355
7.75

44
47
47
60
59
59

0.539
0.475
0.3277
0.3886
0.3869
0.3847

1070, 1490, 2654, 3848

1070, 1490, 2654
1070, 1490
1070,

Table 2
Some test results of the two algorithms for case 6
Node
no.

Voltages calculated by the

backward/forward sweep with
compensation method (Phase A,
KV)

Voltages calculated by the

loop based method (Phase A,
KV)

19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

7.1453
7.1406
7.1402
7.1355
7.1240
7.1252
7.1166
7.1118

7.1453
7.1406
7.1402
7.1355
7.1240
7.1252
7.1166
7.1118

Fig. 5. The iteration curves of two algorithms under six cases.

To illustrate the algorithms ability to cope with ill-conditioned network, the results of convergence properties
under heavy load for six dierent network congurations
are listed in Table 3. In Table 3, the load values are the
ratio between the corresponding load value and their base
values, respectively. With even a very small increase in the
load value, the load ow will diverge. From Table 3, we can
see that the algorithm has a good ability to deal with illconditioned network, such as under heavy load. When
the loops increase, the system can transfer more loads. This
conforms to practical experience.
7. Conclusion
Firstly, the loop-analysis method for power system is
introduced in this paper. Based on this loop-analysis
method, a theoretical interpretation of the forward/backward sweep with compensation power ow method is presented. Subsequently, the reason, why the convergence of
this widely used method deteriorates when the network
becomes more meshed, is well analyzed. In this case, an
improved solution is needed to deal with meshed network.
Based on loop-analysis method, a novel power ow
method is developed in this paper. This method has clear
theory foundation and has better ability to deal with
meshed network than that of the forward/backward sweep
with compensation method. Furthermore, the implementation of this proposed method in distribution management
system remains very straightforward. This method is further proved to be equivalent to Newton method with
constant Jacobin matrix mathematically and has the characteristics of linear convergence. This method takes full
advantage of the radial (or weakly meshed) structure of
distribution systems, to achieve high speed, robust convergence and low memory requirement. The numerical tests
prove that this method is very ecient for radial or weakly
meshed distribution network.
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Fig. 6. The calculation time of two algorithms for six cases.

with compensation method. From Fig. 5, it can be seen

that this new methods advantage become more signicantly when network become more meshed.

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