Abstract
The purpose of this project is to conduct “power flow” and “short-circuit” simulations using three software packages. The first software is “ETAP” [1], which is a commercial-grade package provided to the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at no cost for up to 25 nodes. The second software is “PSLF” [2], which is also a commercial-grade package for power transmission system planning, and the third package is “RadiRing” [3], which has been developed at Sacramento State for the use of students and faculty with no restrictions in the number of buses. Since in general obtaining commercial-grade packages with no restriction in the physical size requires substantial costs associated with licensing and service agreements, it is desirable to determine if the performance and accuracy of the software package developed at house (such as “RadiRing”) are acceptable for use by the students and faculty for educational and research activities. As a result, this project aims at comparison of the results of two basic power system analyses, named as “power flow” and “short-circuit” calculations using transmission and distribution benchmark systems. As known, power flow and short circuit studies are two key types of analyzes to determine system’s proper operation and to ensure that transmission and distribution equipment meet the present and future design requirements.