Transient Analysis of Power Systems

Chapter 5Introduction to the Simulation of Electromagnetic Transients Using ATP

Juan A. Martinez‐Velasco and Francisco González‐Molin

5.1 Introduction

A systematic procedure for the study of transients in power systems might be outlined as follows (see Chapters 1 and 4, and references [1,2]):

1. Define the goal of the study and select the results that are of concern.
2. Decide the system zone to be represented in the model and the model to be used for representing each component. This step must be based on the events and phenomena to be studied, since they can serve to estimate the frequency range of phenomena that can occur in the simulation, and consequently, the most adequate representation of each component.
3. Select the time‐step size and the length of the simulation from the information collected in the previous step. Remember that solution techniques implemented in Alternative Transients Program (ATP) work with a fixed time‐step size selected by the user.
4. Collect data and draw the test system circuit using ATPDraw capabilities. This step is straightforward for simple test systems; however, if the test system is very large and some component models very sophisticated, some previous preparation (for which it can be crucial knowing ATP data formats) will be required. For many case studies, mainly those that deal with large system models, this is the most time‐consuming step [3].
5. Estimate the expected results. For large system models this is not an easy task.
6. Run the input data file. ...