A Simple Approach to the Solution of the AC-DC Power Flow Problem

The advent of inexpensive and reliable high-power SCR’s has led to the reemergence of dc power systems for industrial and utility applications. Calculations of the voltage profile for these systems require that the ac-dc power flow problem be solved. While many texts treat the ac power flow, none to date have incorporated the ac-dc power flow. Presented in this paper is an approach for simultaneously solving the ac and dc systems equations which constitute the ac-dc power flow problem. The approach is valid for multiterminal HV dc links as well as industrial dc networks. The use of Newton’s method in this approach allows the ac-dc power flow to be presented as a generalization of the ac power flow.