OpenDSS is a wonderful package, but it is not suitable for simulating some special features of railway traction network, it would be fantastic to have something similar related to Railway power systems. What do you think?
Hi Dear Pablo
OpenDSS is a very interesting tool for simulating power distribution systems including DGs. Its main drawback is that the source codes are inaccessible, especially for researchers over the worlds, while there are some other toolboxes in power system simulation such as Matpower and PSAT that are based on MATLAB. One can see all the coding details of Matpower and PSAT. This simple difference creates a meaning full difference in the citation that these tools gained.
For example, if you search in google scholar, you will find that OpenDSS related references are cited less than 200 times. While, Matpower main paper has been cited more than 1800 times.
OpenDSS in a magnificent tool and has an interface to be connected to MATLAB. However, it hasn't gained the popularity of the MATLAB based packages.
So, It would be better to develop new tools based on Matlab software.
Dear Hamzeh, I agree with you, PSAT or MATPOWER are beautiful and powerful tools too, but I was thinking about some tool able to deal with non-smooth devices such a converters or trains with complicated characteristics very specific of railway power systems.
following are the notable Traction Simulation packages:
1- OpenPowerNet
2- STElec
3- eTraX (a part of ETAP)
these packages are commercial, so, introducing a free tool will attract many researchers.
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one software package in this regard is OpenPowerNet that is developed by Institut für Bahntechnik GmbH, BO Dresden as an in-house tool.
OpenPowerNet main functionality:
Load flow analysis for 1AC, 2AC and DC networks
Calculation of tractive effort for OpenTrack
Calculation of braking effort and recovered energy for network simulation and analysis
Advanced Train Model with tractive and braking current limitation, power factor versus voltage, recovery braking, eddy current braking, ...
Engine model with multiple propulsion systems is available
Automatic calculation of the magnetic coupling between conductors
Modelling of power supplies such as rectifier/inverter, transformer, converter (SFC)
Modelling of station energy storage for stabilisation of line voltage and energy saving
Modelling of engine energy storage
Modelling of booster transformer
Modelling of voltage limiting device
Calculation of short circuit currents along the line
Calculation of line voltages for constant current engines to analyse the electrical network
Energy balance
Consideration of coasting behaviour of the courses
Load analysis of equipment
Touch voltage calculation
Electromagnetic field calculation and visualisation
Visualisation of results using the automated analysis of the Analysis Tool
Automated analysis generates the tables and diagrams in any language by user configuration using UTF-8 characters.
ref: http://www.openpowernet.de/
Very good answer Hamzeh !!!! I see that you know the state of art!! Thank you very much.
Pablo - maybe the fsolve and other included solvers in Matlab has matured since "we were young"?
It is actually a relevant research topic to investigate if Matlab in itself is more capable of railway applications now compared to what it used to be.
Dear Lars, you are right Matlab - fsolve has improved a lot, but there is still too much work to do, our C++ based solvers are much faster than fsolve. For a general purposes solver with educational approach fsolve is perfect, but when you really want to make something real fast.... you need to go to C++
On the other hand - such a software could still be Matlab-based and use external things for the solving?
And speed is not the focus of Matpower either, if one sees that as a "role model"?
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