Identifying and Characterizing Non-Convexities in the Feasible Spaces of Optimal Power Flow Problems

Conference · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSII.2018.2823712· OSTI ID:1460992

Molzahn, Daniel K.

Optimal power flow (OPF) is an important problem in the operation of electric power systems. The solution to an OPF problem provides a minimum cost operating point that satisfies constraints imposed by both the non-linear power flow equations and engineering limits. These constraints can yield non-convex feasible spaces that result in significant computational challenges. This brief proposes an algorithm that identifies and characterizes non-convexities in OPF feasible spaces. This algorithm searches for a pair of feasible points whose connecting line segment contains an infeasible point. Such points certify the existence of a non-convexity in the OPF feasible space. Moreover, the constraint violations at the infeasible point along the connecting line segment physically characterize a cause of the non-convexity. Numerical demonstrations include a small illustrative example as well as applications to various test cases.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE U. S. DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1460992
• Resource Relation: Conference: 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 05/27/18 - 05/30/18, Florence, IT
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English