Backward / Forward Sweep Load Flow Algorithm for Radial Distribution System

This paper presents Backward / Forward (BW/FW) Sweep algorithm for load flow analysis of radial distribution network. In backward sweep, Kirchhoff's Current Law and Kirchhoff's Voltage Law are used to compute the bus voltage from farthest node. In forward sweep, downstream bus voltage is updated starting from source node. The procedure stops after the mismatch of the calculated and the specified voltages at the substation is less than a convergence tolerance. Line losses are calculated afterwards using updated bus voltage. Using this method, load flow solution for a distribution network can be obtained without solving any set of simultaneous equations. The proposed algorithm is tested with 15 bus and IEEE 33 bus radial distribution system. Test results are obtained by programming using MATLAB.