Bifurcation, chaos, and voltage collapse in power systems

Abstract

A model of a power system with load dynamics is studied by investigating qualitative changes in its behavior as the reactive power demand at a load bus is increased. In addition to the saddle node bilification often associated with voltage collapse, the power system exhibits sub- and supercritical Hopf bifurcations, cyclic fold bifurcation, and period doubling bifurcation. Cascades of period doubling bifurcation terminate in chaotic invariant sets. The presence of these new bifurcations motivates a reexamination of the saddle-node bifurcation as the boundary of the feasible set of power injections.