2012 Third International Conference on Intelligent Systems Modelling and Simulation

Transient Stability Analysis of the IEEE 14-Bus Test System Using Dynamic
Computation for Power Systems (DCPS)
N. Hashim, N. Hamzah, M.F. Abdul Latip

A.A. Sallehhudin

Faculty of Electrical Engineering

UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM)
40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
azlan4477@salam.uitm.edu.my

Advanced Power Solutions Sdn. Bhd.

40675 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
adibyss@gmail.com

Abstract Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) is a major

analysis in the operation of power systems, due to the
increasing stress on power system networks. One of the main
goals of this analysis is to gather critical information, such as
critical clearing time (tCCT,) of the circuit breakers for faults
in the system. tCCT is defined as the maximum time between
the fault initiation and its clearing, such that the power
system is transiently stable. This paper presents a transient
stability analysis of the IEEE 14 bus test system using
Dynamic Computation for Power Systems (DCPS) software
package. This C++ based software package has the ability to
handle systems up to 1000 buses and 250 generators,
providing an alternative to expensive commercial software
packages. To analyze the effect of the distance of the fault
location and critical clearing time on the system stability, a
three-phase fault has been applied at five different locations
in the system. The stability of the system has been observed
based on the simulation graphs of terminal voltage,
machines rotor angle, machines speed and output electrical
power. The simulation results showed that tCCT decreases as
the fault location becomes closer to the main generator.

The aim of this investigation is to analyze the transient

stability of the system by analyzing the characteristics of
the machine states, including machine speed, rotor angle,
output electrical power and terminal voltage with respect
to fault clearing time after the three-phase fault occurs in
the system. Section II provides a brief overview of the
Dynamic Computation for Power Systems (DCPS)
software package. Section III describes the Differential
Algebraic Equations (DAEs) of the power system
dynamic device, including the synchronous machine,
turbine-governor and exciter. Section IV describes an
overview of transient stability analysis. The results of the
case study using the IEEE 14-bus test system are
presented in section V. Section VI concludes the paper.
II.

The Dynamic Computation for Power Systems

program was created by the late of Dr Sallehhudin Yusof,
the former managing director of Advanced Power
Solutions Sdn Bhd, for the purpose of research. There are
three simulation programs embedded in DCPS: (i) LF for
load flow, (ii) TS for transient stability and (iii) CG for
coherency grouping. As a pre-requisite to transient
stability analysis, the load flow program must be run to
provide the steady-state operation points. There are three
load flow calculation methods employed in DCPS,
including (i) Gauss- Seidel, (ii) Decoupled Newton, and
(iii) Fast Decoupled. Each method has its own approach to
solving the non-linear algebraic equations. Although each
method points to equal objectives for load flow solution,
the answers obtained from each method is likely to be
different. The speed of convergence of the three methods
is extremely important in achieving cost effective
simulations. From experience in using the DCPS, the
Decoupled Newton method gives the most satisfactory
results [7].

KeywordsTransient Stability Analysis; DCPS; Improved

Euler Method; Critical Clearing Time

I.

INTRODUCTION

The two major areas in stability studies are steadystate stability and transient stability. Steady-state stability
refers to the ability of the electrical power system to
regain synchronism after encountering slow and small
disturbances, such as gradual power. Transient stability
analysis of a power system refers to the system's ability to
remain in synchronism when subjected to a large
disturbance, such as a three-phase fault and the sudden
outage of a transmission line or the sudden addition or
removal of the loads [1, 2]. Studies regarding these types
of stability are helpful in determining crucial metrics such
as critical clearing time (tCCT) of the circuit breakers and
the voltage level of the power system. In the study of
transient stability, the critical clearing time is one
significant factor for maintaining the transient stability of
the power system [3]. The definition of tCCT is related to
transient stability. tCCT is defined as the maximum time
between the fault initiation and its clearing, such that the
power system is transiently stable. The clearing time is the
time duration from the instant the disturbance occurred
until all three poles of the circuit breaker are completely
open. The critical clearing time is obtained by increasing
the fault time interval until the system loses its stability.
Increasing the tCCT can reduce the protection system rating
and its cost and can increase the reliability of the
protection system [4].
978-0-7695-4668-1/12 $26.00 2012 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/ISMS.2012.53

DYNAMIC COMPUTATION FOR POWER SYSTEMS

(DCPS)

III. THE IMPROVED EULER METHOD FOR SOLVING

DIFFERENTIAL ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS (DAES)
An electrical power system consists of multiple
individual dynamic devices connected together to form a
large and complex dynamic system. The three most
important dynamic devices are synchronous machine,
exciter and turbine-governor. The relationship between
these devices is illustrated in Figure 1.

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481

Figure 1. Relationship Between Machine States & Controller States

Before TSA can be performed, the physical model of

these devices needs to be formulated into Differential
Algebraic Equations (DAEs). First-order DAEs are in the
form of:

(1)
Figure 2. Graphical Depiction of Improved Euler Method; (a) Predictor
and (b) Corrector

where y(t) is a time-varying function subject to the initial

condition: y(0) = y0. This initial value problem must be
solved numerically, since there is no closed solution. The
objective of solving (1) is to determine y0, y1, y2, ,yi at
time t0, t1, t2, ti. The solution must take into
consideration these three aspects, including accuracy,
stability, and efficiency. The solution methods for DAEs
can be divided into implicit and explicit numerical
integration techniques. Under the implicit technique, the
Trapezoidal method is the most popular choice. Under the
explicit technique, both Runge-Kutta and Euler Methods
have been used extensively. In this paper, the Improved
Euler Method, also known as Predictor-Corrector Method,
is chosen to represent the explicit numerical integration
technique that was developed in DCPS. The Improved
Euler Method is depicted graphically in Figure 2. The
Improved Euler Method is a Runge-Kutta based method
for approximating the solution of the initial value problem
[5]. In this method an initial estimate value is calculated
by using the following Predictor Formula:

A. Synchronous Machine Model

In DCPS, there are three synchronous machine
models that can be used for transient stability analysis,
including:
a) gen0 a classical machine model.
b) gen2 a transient level machine model.
c) gen5 a detailed machine model
In this paper, only a detailed synchronous machine model
(gen5) has been used in transient stability analysis. This
model, also known as round rotor machine model, is
shown in Figure 3. The gen5 model presumes an electric
transmission network with a positive sequence source
voltage where instantaneous amplitude and phase are
known and current is to be determined. For clarity, the
magnetic saturation and the stator resistance are excluded
from the model. The stator flux is derived from stator
currents and the exciter voltage [8]. The parameters of this
model are shown in Appendix section. The equations
which describe this model are:

(2)

The time-step, h is given by (t = ti+1 - ti), which can be

constant or variable. Using the result in (2), the final
estimate value can be determined by applying the
following Corrector Formula:

(3)

(4)

       

(5)

            

(6)

         

(7)

            

(8)

(9)



      

Where is the rotor angle; is the angular velocity;

PMECH is the input mechanical power; PE is the output

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480

electrical power; D is the damping constant; M is the

machine inertia constant; f is the system frequency;  is
the direct-axis synchronous reactance;  is the directaxis transient reactance;  is the direct-axis sub-transient

is the open circuit direct-axis transient time

reactance; 

constant;  is the open circuit direct-axis sub-transient

time constant;  is the quadrature-axis synchronous
reactance;  is the quadrature-axis transient reactance;

is
 is the quadrature-axis sub-transient reactance; 
the open circuit quadrature-axis transient time constant;

is the open circuit quadrature-axis sub-transient time


constant; and L is the leakage reactance.

1
R

Figure 4. Turbine-Governor Model (Type Gov10) in DCPS

C. Exciter Model
The exciter is a key component of a synchronous
generator control system, as it maintains the output
terminal voltage at a constant level. It provides direct
current to the field winding of the synchronous machine.
The amount of excitation required is a function of the
generator load. As the generator load increases, the
amount of excitation increases. Figure 5 shows a simple
excitation system used in DCPS. The differential
equations relating the input and output variables of this
exciter model is given as:

X 'd' X
X 'd X

E fd

1
Td' 0S

1
Td''0S

X 'd X 'd'
X 'd X

+
+

X 'd' X

X ad I fd

X d X 'd

X X
( X 'd X ) 2
'
d

''
d

   

Id

X q X 'q

1
1 + sT1

(13)

Iq

X 'q X 'q'
( X 'q X q ) 2

1
1 + sTR

X 'q' X

1
Tq' 0S

1
Tq''0S

X 'q X 'q'
X 'q X

K1

X X
''
q
'
q

Figure 5. Exciter Model (Type Exc10) in DCPS

X X

IV.
Figure 3. Detailed Synchronous Machine Model (Type Gen5) in DCPS

B. Turbine-Governor Model
The function of a turbine-governor system is to
monitor the speed of the the rotor being driven by the
turbine. The governor provides the appropriate signal to
fuel valve controllers either to open or close the valve,
depending on the deviation of the rotor speed with respect
to the synchronous speed [7]. Figure 4 shows a simple
turbine-governor control system embedded in DCPS. The
input mechanical power PMECH to the generator is
controlled by this turbine-governor system in order to
maintain the output electrical power, PE at an acceptable
level. A speed error signal 7err is calculated by comparing
the recorded speed at the shaft to a desired value. 7err is
used to determine the new gate/valve position. The speed
change as an input is given by = (0 - )/0. The
equations that describe the control transfer function
relating the input and output variables of the Simple
Turbine-Governor are given below:
  

TRANSIENT STABILITY ANALYSIS

As a pre-requisite to TSA, load flow calculations need to

be solved to determine the steady-state conditions of the
network. Then, the values from these solutions will be
used to calculate the initial conditions for dynamic models
namely synchronous generators, turbine-governors system
and exciters system. The purpose of transient stability
analysis is to evaluate the ability of the power system to
withstand large disturbances and to survive transition to a
normal operating condition. These disturbances can
include a three-phase fault on a transmission line, loss of a
generator or loss of a major load [2]. In the study of
transient stability, one of the most significant factors for
maintaining the transient stability of the power system is
the critical clearing time (tCCT). There are many methods
to determine the tCCT, including the Lyapunov direct
methods, transient energy function methods, equal area
criterion, artificial intelligence and conventional time
domain simulation. Time domain simulation can be
considered as the most accurate solution, and in theory it
can handle unlimited detailed models of generator, load
and other system controllers. However, the solution of this
simulation is very complicated, because it involves
multiple nonlinear differential-algebraic equations
(DAEs). In this paper, the Improved Euler Method, also
known as Predictor-Corrector Method, is chosen to

(10)

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481

represent the explicit numerical integration technique that

was developed in DCPS.    
 

Figure 8. IEEE 14-Bus Test System

V.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The TSA was carried out on IEEE 14-bus test system

as shown in Figure 8. The network data used for this work
is obtained from [9]. Dynamic data for generators,
turbine-governors and exciters used in this work are given
in the Appendix. These data values were kept constant
during the simulation. The main generator for this system
is located at bus 1, and produces the largest real power of
approximately 232.4 MW. To study the effect of fault
distance from the main generator and critical clearing
time, a three-phase fault has been applied at five
difference buses namely bus 1(swing bus), bus 2, bus 3,
bus 4 and bus 5. The distance of each bus from the main
generator is described by the reactance value as shown in
Table I.

Figure 6. Flowchart of Transient Stability Analysis in DCPS

In this simulation, a three-phase fault has been injected

to the system at t = 1s and removed from the system at the
clearing time, tCT. In practice, fault clearance occurs
through the removal of the affected line or branch from
the power system network by protective relay action and
opening of circuit breakers. After fault clearance, if the
system is still stable, then the system terminal voltage is
expected to recover. The generator's rotor angle would
settle back to its steady state condition. To determine tCCT,
tCT was increased gradually using a step time of 0.01s
until the system appears to be unstable as determined by
observing  as a reference point. The tCCT
is obtained by calculating the midpoint between the fault
time when the system starts to be unstable and the time
where the system was last known in a stable state. The
procedure for determining the tCCT when fault occurred at
bus 1 is shown in Figure 7 [7].

Figure 9-12 shows the simulation graphs of terminal

voltage, machines rotor angle, machines speed and
output electric power in the case where a three-phase fault
occurs at bus 1 when the fault clearing time is less than
critical clearing time (tCT < tCCT). As can be seen,
following the removal of fault from the system, the
terminal voltage (Figure 9) is recovered and the machines
rotor angle (Figure 10) is settling back to its steady state
after experiencing damped transient oscillations. For this
particular operating condition, the system is said to be
transiently stable following a three-phase fault. When the
clearing time exceeds the critical clearing time (tCT >
tCCT), the machines rotor angle will go out of step, as can
be seen in Figure 14, and in this case the system is in
unstable condition. The system model is unable to sustain
the fault and loses its synchronism. Based on this analysis,
the critical clearing time for this case is 0.145 sec. The
same analysis has been done for other buses and the
summary of this analysis is shown in Table I. The results
in the table clearly show that tCCT decreases as the fault
location becomes closer to the main generator. The
distance of the fault location from main generator was
described by the values of reactance in p.u.

Figure 7. Critical Clearing Time Determination in DCPS

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482

Pre-fault Fault-on

Post-fault

Pre-fault Fault-on

tct

Post-fault

tct

Figure 9. Plots of terminal voltage for all buses (tct=0.14). (Stable)

Figure 13. Plots of terminal voltage for all buses (tct=0.15). (Unstable)

Figure 10. Plots of machines rotor angle (tct=0.14). (Stable)

Figure 14. Plots of machines rotor angle (tct=0.15). (Unstable)

Figure 11. Plots of machines speed (tct=0.14). (Stable)

Figure 15. Plots of machines speed (tct=0.15). (Unstable)

Figure 12. Plots of machines output electric power (tct=0.14). (Stable)

Figure 16. Plots of machines output electric power (tct=0.15). (Unstable)

TABLE I. SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS RESULTS

Rank

Faulted Bus

Shortest Reactance from Bus 1

1 (Swing Bus)

0.0592 p.u

0.2230 p.u

0.2355 p.u

0.2572 p.u

Clearing Time (s)

0.14
0.15
0.38
0.39
0.58
0.59
0.34
0.35
0.63
0.64

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Analysis Result
Stable
Unstable
Stable
Unstable
Stable
Unstable
Stable
Unstable
Stable
Unstable

Critical Clearing Time (s)

0.145
0.385
0.585
0.595
0.635

VI.

CONCLUSION

[7]

In this paper, the TSA of the IEEE 14-bus test system

has been successfully analyzed using DCPS software
package. For the comparative analysis, five different
locations of the three-phase fault was chosen to study the
effect of the fault distance from the main generator and
critical clearing time. As can be seen from Table I, the
fastest tCCT is 0.145s when the fault occurred exactly at the
main generator bus, while the longest tCCT is 0.635s when
the fault occurred on bus 3, located far from the main
generator. The tCCT decreases as the fault location
becomes closer to the main generator. An interpretation of
this finding is that faults that occur closer to the main
generator must be cleared more quickly than faults that
occurred some distance away. To ensure the stability of
power system due to fault occurrence, proper protection
system settings must be made. Information from this
analysis and similar analysis based on the configuration of
the target network can be used in identifying the correct
settings.

[8]

[9]

APPENDIX
TABLE II. DYNAMIC DATA FOR TRANSIENT STABILITY ANALYSIS IN
DCPS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The financial assistance of the Faculty of Electrical
Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA is greatly
appreciated. Also, special thanks to Mr Ahmad Adib
Sallehhudin for permission to use DCPS software.
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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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Parameters

Generator

Turbine-Governor

Exciter

50 hz

1.9



0.3



0.3




4.57




0.042

1.6



0.7



0.293






0.5

0.3

L

0.25

1.0

-1.0

30.0

0.05

1.0

-1.0

30.0

0.01