No.
E-16-PSS-1247
MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for
Power System Dynamics Course Education
Hamzeh Beiranvand, Esmaeel Rokrok and Mahmoud
Reza Shakarami
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Lorestan University
Khorramabad, Iran
beiranvand.ha@fe.lu.ac.ir, rokrok.e@lu.ac.ir,
shakarami.mr@lu.ac.ir
Abstract—Power System Dynamics Course (PSDC) is one of
the most important courses in the MSc/M.Tech program of
Electrical Engineering at most of the universities worldwide.
However, due to the difficulties exist in this course, students are
unable to learn the power systems dynamics, properly. This
paper introduces a tool based on MATLAB Software that is
useful for educating PSDC, effectively. A tool based on Matpower
and Simulink (MatSim) has developed in this paper. MatSim
utilizes Matpower for power flow studies which is required to
calculate steady-state operating points. Also, it uses Simulink to
solve the Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs) of a power
system. A single-machine infinite-bus power system, a 3-machine
power system, and a 10-machine power system are provided as
examples in MatSim. At present in beginning phase, this package
is encouraged to be used by most of the students of Lorestan
University, Iran and National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
(NITR) for completing their PSDC assignments or studies.
Keywords—Power System dynamic education; Matpower;
Simulink; PSS design;
I. INTRODUCTION
Education is a critical infrastructure in any country and it
guarantees their prosperity. Unfortunately, in the academic
places, where the education system is formed systemically,
sometimes the quality of the education is sacrificed. The
PSDC in MSc/M.Tech program of electrical engineering is an
example. PSDC covers a huge amount of notions in the
electrical engineering. For instance, PSDC starts with
Electrical Machinery Theory and Power Flow studies and then
drives dynamical models for power plants, and finally, it
forms interconnected power system by connecting generators
through the admittance matrix of transmission line systems.
Thereafter, modern control theory and linear control theory are
used to design a controller to remove power systems dynamic
problems such as low-frequency oscillations.
At present, a number of MATLAB-based tools have been
developed as reported in the literature and they are helpful in
Amit Kumar, Srungavarapu Gopalakrishna and Sanjeeb
Mohanty
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela, India
contact.amit.ele@gmail.com, gopal@nitrkl.ac.in,
sanjeeb.mohanty@nitrkl.ac.in
PSDC education. Following Tools are successful examples of
that:
 Power System Toolbox (PST) [1],
 Power Analysis Toolbox (PAT) [2],
 Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) [3],
 The ObjectStab [4],
 The MatDyn [5],
 And the other educational tools [6-8].
The PST is a very effective tool for dynamic simulation of
a power system. However, understanding the simulation
procedure for PSDC beginners is hard due to the lack of a
User Graphical Interface (GUI).
The PAT uses the Simulink GUI. Also, it includes Flexible
AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices in the simulation.
Its simulation loop is quite simple to track. However, it uses
some nonlinear solvers, in addition to the Simulink solvers, to
overcome the algebraic loops. Therefore, its understanding is
not straightforward especially for PSDC beginners.
The PSAT is a completely open access MATLAB based
toolbox that enables the electrical engineers to experience a
vast variety of studies just in one package. The PSAT’s user-
friendly GUI makes its usage easy. Despite its diversity, it is
difficult to understand its simulation loop. Also, its GUI
provides no insight for the PSDC beginners. Furthermore, a
huge amount of m-files confuses the PSDC beginners.
There are few commercially available tools such as
Simpow [9], ETMSP [10], and EuroStag [11] to study and
investigate the power system dynamics. While, being efficient
and thereby able to simulate large systems, their component
models are often encapsulated and difficult or impossible to
examine and modify. ObjectStab has developed for academic
and educational uses and it enables the student to examine and
modify the power system component models, simply. Though
 MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for Power System Dynamics Course Education
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran
ObjectStab overcomes the mentioned drawback and provides a
useful tool for education, its main solution loop is not still
straightforward.
MatDyn utilizes Matpower to solve the power flow.
Therefore, it simplifies the overall complexities of the
simulation. However, its drawbacks for PSDC beginners are:
it has not GUI, the small signal analysis is impossible to
perform, and solvers are limited as compared to MATLAB
Simulink.
The tool presented in [6] has a simple methodology to
simulate the power system. But, its object-oriented structure
introduces complexity. In [7] transient stability analysis of a
multi-machine power system based on Simulink was done. In
[8], a Simulink-based educational tool was proposed for the
purpose of illustrating power system control and stability
notions as well as introducing students to realistic, though
tractable in size, design problems. This package only models a
single-machine infinite-bus (SMIB) power system with
associated controller and multi-machine power system are not
presented.
In this paper, a Matpower [12] and Simulink (MatSim)
based tool for PSDC beginners is developed. MatSim has a
simple structure. MatSim utilizes Matpower to perform load
flow studies. In addition, it uses Simulink GUI and solvers. In
MatSim, SMIB and multi-machine power systems are
considered as examples. Finally, after the acceptance of this
paper, MatSim package will be available online at MathWorks
Inc. website.
II. POWER SYSTEM MODELLING
The Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs) describe the
dynamic model of a power system. The differential equations
of an m-machine power system representing the synchronous
machine and the automatic voltage regulator (AVR), can be
described as follows:
dEqi
 Td0i   Eqi  ( X di  X di ) I d i  E fdi 
dt
dEdi
 Tq0i   Edi  ( X qi  X qi ) I qi 
dt
d i
  i  s 
dt
2 H i d i
 TM i  Edi I di  Eqi I qi
 s dt
 ( X qi  X di ) I di I qi  Di (i  s )
dE fd i
 TAi   K Ai E fdi  K Ai (Vrefi  Vi )  
dt
Where δ is the rotor angle, ω is the rotor speed, ωs is the
synchronous speed, E′d and E′q are internal transient voltage
behind x′d and x′q, Id and Iq are d-axis and q-axis components
of generator stator currents, H is the generator inertia constant,
D is the damping coefficient, TM is the mechanical power
input, xd is the d-axis reactance, xq is the q-axis reactance, x′d
is the d-axis transient reactance, x′q is the q-axis transient
reactance, T′d0 is the open circuit d-axis time constant, T′q0 is
the open circuit q-axis time constant, Efd is the excitation
system voltage, V is the generator terminal voltage, Vref is the
regulator reference voltage, KA is the regulator gain, and TA is
the regulator time constant. In these equations, subscript i
denotes ith synchronous generator
For simplicity purposes, the input mechanical power TMi is
treated as a constant in the excitation controller design, i.e., it
is assumed that the governor action is slow enough, and it has
not any significant impact on the machine dynamics. The
electrical torque is as follows:
 TE i  Edi I di  Eqi I qi  ( X qi  X di ) I di I qi  
The electrical torque is used in equation (4).
The stator algebraic equation of a synchronous machine
can be described as follows:
Vdi   Rsi I di  X qi I qi  Edi
  
Vqi   Rsi I qi  X di I di  Eqi
The stator algebraic equation of all synchronous machines
in the power system can be represented in a Matrix form as
follows:
 Vd   R s I d  Xq I q  Ed
  
Vq   Xd I d  R s I q  Eq
Where

T T
Vd  Vd 1  Vdm  , Vq  Vq1  Vqm 
 T
  , Eq   Eq1  Eqm
   
T
 Ed   Ed 1  Edm
T T
I d  I d 1  I dm  , I q   I q1  I qm 
 
R s  diag ( Rs1  Rsm )
 Xd  diag ( X d1  X dm
 )  
Xq  diag (  X q1  X qm
  )
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 MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for Power System Dynamics Course Education
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

Id+jIq

VS
TM Epd
Machine Stator Vd+jVq Network
Differential Algebraic Tδ Algebraic Tδ-1
Equations Equations VG Equations IG
ωS Epq

PE
Efd (Vd2+Vq2)0.5
AVR
Differential
Equations Vref

Fig. 1. The solution loop schematic of the DAEs using the ODEs.

The network equations of a power system consisting of an

infinite bus, m machines, and n loads are as follows: III. EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES
To show the simplicity and applicability of MatSim, three
examples are given where the commonly used power systems
 I S   VSS VSG VSL   VS  in the literature are analyzed. The PSDC students have to
 I    V VGG VGL   VG    solve the problem “simulate SMIB and multi-machine power
 G   GS systems and design PSS controllers for them” using MatSim.
 I L   VLS VLG VLL   VL 
Students have to use a widely utilized conventional lead-
In a power system with m generators, the loads can be lag PSS and the IEEE-type-ST1 excitation system that are
represented by constant impedances. Therefore, IL =0 and shown in Fig. 2. The conventional lead-lag PSS can be
order reduction can be used to eliminate the load related described as:
elements in the admittance matrix of the lines network.
The following equations interface the machines and the VPSSi ( s ) Tw s (1  sT1i )(1  sT3i )
network:  Gi ( s )   K Gi  
i ( s ) (1  sTw ) (1  sT2i )(1  sT4i )

T (I d  jI q )  I G Where Tw is the washout time constant, VPSSi is the PSS

output signal at the i th machine, and Δωi is the speed
 T (Vd  jVq )  VG   deviation of this machine. The time constants Tw is equal to 10
in this study. The optimal values of the stabilizer gain KGi and
 j (1  2 ) 
j ( m  ) 
the time constants T1i, T2i, T3i and T4i are to be determined.
T  diag (  e e 2
)
 

The above DAEs solution determines the nonlinear

dynamic behavior of the power system. The DAEs can be
solved using an Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) solver.
This paper uses a solution loop to solve the DAEs using
ODEs. This solution loop is illustrated in Fig1.
The MatSim starts with power flow calculations using
Matpower. After the results of power flow calculations were
obtained, initial values of the state variables are calculated.
MatSim uses Simulink to solve the DAEs using ODEs in a Fig. 2. Conventional lead-lag PSS is connected to IEEE-type-ST1 excitation
system.
single simulation loop as illustrated in Fig. 1.

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 MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for Power System Dynamics Course Education
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

A. Single-Machine Infinite-Bus Power System

Fig. 3 shows the SMIB power system used in MatSim. For
this system, H=6.4 s, D=0.0, Td0 =6.0 s, Tq0 =0.535 s
Xd=0.8958, Xq=0.8645, X d =0.1198 s and X q =0.1969 are
the machine parameters; KA=50.0 and TA=0.05s are excitation
system parameters; for the transmission line XT=0.0625 and
XL=0.2 pu. Operating point informations are PG=1.63 pu,
V1=1.026 pu and V2=1.025 pu.
Implementation of SMIB power system in MatSim is
shown in Fig. 4.

XT 1
2 XL
Infinite
G Fig. 5. The rotor speed response to a symmetrical three-phase fault at the
Bus infinite bus.

Fig. 3. Single line diagram of SMIB power system.

Fig. 4. Implementation of the SMIB power system in MatSim. Fig. 6. Single line diagram of WSCC 3-machine power system.

The parameters for a PSS were simply obtained by trial

and error as KG =5.2450, T1=0.5603, T2=0.0145, T3=0.6614
and T4= 0.0415. The nonlinear simulation was done using MatSim implementation of the WSCC power system is
MatSim for a symmetrical three-phase fault at the infinite bus shown in Fig. 7.
with duration of 100 ms. After the fault is cleared, the original
system is restored. Results for the rotor speed are depicted in
Fig. 5.
The designed PSS improves the unstable
electromechanical modes (EMs) from 0.0588±j8.3601 up to a
stable position -0.4772±j4.3029.

B. Three-Machine Power System

In the second example, a widely used Western Systems
Coordinating Council (WSCC) 3-machine, 9-bus power
system is considered [13]. Single-line diagram of the WSCC
power system is shown in Fig. 6. The G1 is the slack bus
generator and its rotor angle (δ1) is selected as the reference
angle. The generators are represented as fourth-order models.
All dynamic parameters of the WSCC power system are given Fig. 7. Implementation of the multi-machine power system in MatSim.
in [13].
In order to increase damping of EMs, the stabilizer gain,
and the time constants are tuned based on the methodology

4
 MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for Power System Dynamics Course Education
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

presented in [14]. Two PSSs are considered at G2 and G3 and

their parameters are given in [14] where a detailed model
analysis was presented.
Only, following disturbance is considered in the time-
domain simulations for WSCC power system. A 100 msec
symmetrical three-phase fault at bus 9 at the end of line 8–9 at
t=1sec is simulated in MatSim. After the fault clearance, the
original system will be restored. As the generator, speeds
represent the stability status of the power system. So, the rotor
speeds ω1, ω2 and ω3 are graphically depicted in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9. Single line diagram of New England 10-machine power system.

Fig. 8. The rotor speeds response to a symmetrical three-phase fault at bus 9

in the WSCC power system.

The Fig.8 illustrates the stability properties of the WSCC

power system as a small example. Therefore, the PSDC
students can simply understand the basic concepts of the
power system stabilization of a multi-machine power system
using the MatSim.
Fig. 10. The rotor speeds response to a symmetrical three-phase fault at bus 39
in the New-England power system where generators have no PSSs.

C. Ten-Machine Power System

In the third example, the 10-machine 39-bus New England
power system is evaluated using the MatSim. The single-line
diagram of the New England power system is shown in Fig. 9.
Its parameters and normal operating point are given in [15].
A 100 msec symmetrical three-phase fault at bus 39 at
t=1sec is simulated in the MatSim. The rotor speeds for the
base case are given in Fig. 10. It can be observed that the
system is unstable and rotor of generator G9 accelerates with
the disturbed velocity profile. Furthermore, small-signal
analysis results, given in Table I, shows that the system has
three unstable eigenvalues. From their calculated participation
factors, it can be concluded that they are inter-area EMs.
In order to stabilize the New-England power system, all
generators, except G2 that is an equivalent power source
representing parts of the U.S.-Canadian interconnection Fig. 11. The rotor speeds response to a symmetrical three-phase fault at bus 39
system, were equipped with PSSs. The PSS parameters are in the New-England power system where 9 generators equiped with PSSs.
given in Table II.
For the same three-phase fault, the performance of the
proposed PSSs is evaluated. The rotor velocities, for the New-
England power system equipped with 9 PSS, are given in Fig.

5
 MatSim: A Matpower and Simulink based tool for Power System Dynamics Course Education
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

11. It can be seen from this figure that all generators are [8] C. D. Vournas, E. G. Potamianakis, C. Moors, and T. Van Cutsem, "An
stabilized and their oscillations fade out in less than 5seconds. educational simulation tool for power system control and stability,"
IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 19, pp. 48-55, 2004.
Table II lists the eigenvalues for critical modes in the [9] H. R. Fankhauser, T. Adielson, K. Aneros, A.-A. Edris, L. Lindkvist, and
New-England power system without PSSs and when PSSs S. Torseng, "SIMPOW–a digital power system simulator," ABB Review,
vol. 3, p. 2738, 1990.
were installed for 9 generators. [10] P. Hirsch, "Extended Transient-Midterm Stability Program (ETMSP)
Ver. 3.1: User’s Manual," ed: EPRI, TR-102004-V2R1, 1994.
[11] B. Meyer and M. Stubbe, "EUROSTAG, a single tool for power system
TABLE I. ELECTROMECANICAL MODES OF NEW-ENGLAND POWER
SYSTEM WITHOUT PSSS AND WITH PSSS simulation," Transmission & Distribution International, pp. 47-52,
1992.
EMs damping frequency [12] R. D. Zimmerman, C. E. Murillo-Sánchez, and R. J. Thomas,
Without 0.0205 ±6.6324i -0.0031 1.0556 "MATPOWER: Steady-state operations, planning, and analysis tools for
PSS 0.3510 ± 6.0796i -0.0576 0.9676 power systems research and education," IEEE Transactions on power
0.0369 ± 4.0108i -0.0092 0.6383 systems, vol. 26, pp. 12-19, 2011.
With PSS -5.98 ± 80.55i 0.0741 12.8200 [13] P. W. Sauer and M. Pai, "Power system dynamics and stability," Urbana,
-2.22 ± 44.75i 0.0495 7.1223 vol. 51, p. 61801, 1997.
-0.68 ± 9.08i 0.0751 1.4456 [14] H. Beiranvand and E. Rokrok, "General Relativity Search Algorithm: A
Global Optimization Approach," International Journal of
Computational Intelligence and Applications, vol. 14, p. 1550017, 2015.
[15] A. Pai, Energy function analysis for power system stability: Springer
Science & Business Media, 2012.
TABLE II. PSS PARAMETERS FOR NEW-ENGLAND POWER SYSTEM
Gen. KG T1 T2 T3 T4
G1 14.8423 0.7186 0.3155 0.6153 0.3289
G3 18.6122 0.7551 0.1352 0.6021 0.1421
G4 20.938 0.7016 0.0426 0.5638 0.0403
G5 8.4492 0.3211 0.1635 0.3701 0.0111
G6 14.4517 0.7914 0.1156 0.9058 0.1713
G7 11.2414 0.6564 0.1275 0.5869 0.1891
G8 16.5713 0.3348 0.0224 0.8531 0.4177
G9 5.7371 0.4522 0.0434 0.1292 0.0385
G10 11.5953 0.9483 0.0271 0.8877 0.0111

IV. CONCLUSION
This paper developed a Matpower and Simulink (MatSim)
based tool for teaching power system dynamics course that is
good for beginners. Simple structure and small number of files
along with Simulink GUI help the beginners to learn this
package very quickly and easily for the power system
dynamics study.

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