2019 International Conference on Sensing, Diagnostics, Prognostics, and Control (SDPC)

The Applications of Graph Theory in Electric

Network

Baozhuo Xie, Chao Qi, Hongqi Ben, Weixiong Yu

The Department of Electrical Engineering
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin, China
E-mail: 425977565@qq.com, qichao@hit.edu.cn, benhq@hit.edu.cn, yuweixiong@hit.edu.cn

Abstract—Graph theory, which was originally a branch of vector. According to Cramer's rule, the solution of (1) can be
mathematics, is now an interesting subject with a wide range of derived as follow:
applications. It is an important tool for studying natural science,
engineering technology, economic management, and social
phenomena. In this paper, the specific applications of graph '1 j '2 j 'nj
theory in the analysis and design of electrical network are Vj I1  I 2  ˜˜˜  I n ( j 1, 2, ˜˜˜n )(2)
introduced based on basic concepts and basic theorems of graph ' ' ' 
theory. The application fields include the circuit calculation, the
construction and analysis of power electronic topology and the where ' represents determinant of the circuit node
distribution network. The idea of graph theory is integrated into admittance matrix Yn , ' ij represents algebraic complement of
the electric network, and the related complex issues are the element which locates at the i low and j column of the
transformed into graph theory problems, as a result, the analysis
matrix Yn .
process is simplified and optimized.
Traditional node voltage calculation is always pure
Keywords—graph theory, electric network, circuit calculation,
"numerical calculation" and a large number of determinants or
power electronic topology, distribution network
equations need to be solved. This can be troublesome.
Therefore, 2-tree knowledge can be used to solve the problem.
I. INTRODUCTION According to the tree theorems in graph theory, we can know
Graph theory is the theory of studying the connection ' equals to the sum of the branch admittance products of all
between nodes. These graphs composed of point sets and lines trees in the connected graph corresponding to the circuit. The
are called line graphs. Line graphs can clearly and simply algebraic complement of principal diagonal element ' ii is the
show the interconnection and complex structures between sum of the branch admittance products of all 2-trees Ti ,0 in the
objects. In the electric network, the physical systems are
constructed into geometrical mathematical models through graph(0 is the reference node). ' ij is the sum of the branch
nodes and line segments or directed line segments. And then admittance products of all 2-trees Tij ,0 , and there is a formula
through the specific analysis with the nature and the theorems as follow:
of the graph theory, many complex problems in electric
network can be subtly solved [1].
'ij 6Ti ,0 ˆ 6Tj ,0 (3)
II. CIRCUIT CALCULATION
Graphs can describe the structure of the circuit. By using a Obviously, this solving method doesn’t need to expand
directed graph to represent the circuit, the basic cut set matrix, and simplify the determinant, and only needs to find all trees
basic loop matrix, and the node association matrix of the and 2-trees of the connected graph corresponding to the circuit.
circuit can be written, and then the matrix form of the node For example, Fig. 1 is a simple circuit and Fig. 2 is the
voltage equation can also be deduced [2]. equivalent network topology, where from e1 to e5 are circuit
branches.
YnVn I n (1)
V1 V2 V3
I1 Y3 Y5 I2
where n represents the number of the circuit node, Yn Y1 Y4 Y2
represents circuit node admittance matrix, Vn represents node
voltage column vector, I n represents node current column V0

Fig. 1. Example of a circuit

978-1-7281-0199-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 780

DOI 10.1109/SDPC.2019.00148

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 V1 e3 V2 e5 V3 of the one-way flow is unidirectional arrow. Defining
elements gij (i and j are also the number of nodes)in the n×n
e4
e1 e2 (n is the number of nodes)connection matrix G as follow:

­1 when i j
V0 °
gij ®0 when i z j , and there is no edge between i and j (5)
Fig. 2. Equivalent network topology of the circuit °e e is the component between i and j
¯ l l

For example, if we need to construct a buck and boost

' Y1Y2Y3  Y1Y3Y5  Y1Y4Y5  Y2Y3Y4  Y3Y4Y5  circuit with input and output in the same polarity by using a
Y2Y3Y5  Y1Y2Y4  Y1Y2Y5 boost circuit and a buck-boost circuit (Fig. 3), first, these two
'11 Y2Y3  Y3Y5  Y2Y4  Y4Y5  Y2Y5
graphs should be transformed into directed graphs composed
of points and directed edges (Fig. 4). Since the switch is a
' 22 Y1Y2  Y1Y5  Y2Y3  Y3Y5 (4) bidirectionally-conductive MOSFET, the edges are all
' 33 Y1Y3  Y1Y4  Y3Y4  Y1Y5  Y3Y5 bidirectional edges except the edges corresponding to the
diodes.
'12 Y2Y3  Y3Y5 ' 21 , '13 Y3Y5 '31
' 23 Y1Y5  Y3Y5 '32 Then, the two circuits are cascaded. And the output of the
boost converter is used as the input of the buck-boost
By drawing all the trees and 2-trees and using the theorems converter, and then Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are obtained. The
above, we can get (4). Through (2) we can find the voltage of connection matrix is shown in (6). Since the load doesn’t
each node, which isn’t described in detail here. affect the structure of the circuit. It can be unconsidered.
As the network gradually becomes more complex, the Obviously, this circuit is relatively complicated. In order to
methods to find all the trees has also attracted the attention of optimize the circuit, the number of switches must be reduced
many scholars, one of which is the generalized tree method [3]. and the switches must be combined. For ease of analysis, Fig.
This method can generate k-arrays systematically through 6 can be changed to Fig. 7 where node 6' and 6 are common
certain algorithms and then solve the complex network ground nodes. Then the algebraic complement of switches in
problems. This approach is particularly useful for solving (6) should be calculated. The common part of each switch
power flow calculations in power system [4]. In addition, the algebraic complement is called the common path of the switch.
k-array method can be also used in the network sensitivity, By calculation, the common path of K 1 is L1 S , and that of
and it is simple and intuitive. K 2 is C1 L2 , as shown by the solid line in Fig. 7. Since the
common paths of the two switches don’t overlap, the two
III. CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF POWER ELECTRONIC switches can be combined.
TOPOLOGIES
Then, node 3 is combined with node 2 and node 4 is
A. Construction of Power Electronic Topologies combined with node 6', and Fig. 8 is obtained. The directed
graph is then converted into a topology. In order to fit the
The earliest application of graph theory to power normal layout, the diode is moved to the top and the load is
electronic circuits containing high-frequency switching added, as shown in Fig. 9. It is now called the sepic converter.
components was J.S.Linder [5]. Others also proposed a
method using the combination of graph theory with power L1 D1
K2 D2
electronic theory and circuit theory to generate new topologies
by deducing [6]. In recent years, through the summary of S1 K1 C1 R1 S2 L2 C2 R2
scholars, a method to obtain the topology structure of a new
power electronic converter has been obtained, which uses
graph theory from a different angle [7]. The method first
Fig. 3. Boost converter(left) and buck-boost converter(right)
cascades existing power electronic topologies according to the
required function, and then converts the obtained circuit into 1 L1 2 D1 3 1 K2 2 D2 3
directed graphs, then integrates the directed line segments
using the knowledge of graph theory. Finally, on the premise K1 C1 L2 C2
S1 S2
of guaranteeing the function, the simplest topology and the R1 R2
least number of components are achieved.
Any power electronic topology can be represented by a 4 4
directed graph in which V and E are respectively the sets of all
edges and all directed edges connected between the nodes. Fig. 4. The directed graph of boost converter(left) and buck-boost
converter(right)
The direction of the edges is determined by the characteristics
of the element: for the edge where the current can flow
bidirectionally, the bidirectional arrow is taken, and the edge

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 L1 D1 K2 D2 a given topology, mode analysis is usually needed. This
requires finding the switch path of the topology, which can be
S K1
C1 L2 C
2 R solved through graph theory.
For such problems, we must first establish a directed graph
corresponding to the topology and then write the connection
Fig. 5. The converter after being cascaded matrix G based on the directed graph. In theory, the each part
of the determinant of the matrix represents a switch loop path
1 L1 2 D1 3 K2 4 D2 5 in the directed graph. However, if the power of the component
symbol appears, since one component can’t appear multiple
K1 C1 L2 times in one loop, the exponent should be ignored and the path
S C2 function F of the switching circuit of the converter can be
obtained. However, since the voltage source short circuit is
not allowed in the circuit, after the path function is obtained,
6 the switch state that causes the voltage source to be short-
Fig. 6. The directed graph of the cascaded converter circuited must also be deleted.
Take the topology of the main circuit of three-phase
ª1 L1 0 0 0 S º voltage type PWM rectifier as an example [8], as shown in Fig.
«L 1 D1 0 0 K1 »» 10, where the diode is the parasitic diode of the switch .
« 1
«0 0 1 K2 0 C1 » First, according to the method above, a directed graph of a
G1 « » (6) three-phase voltage type rectifier is established, as shown in
«0 0 K2 1 0 L2 »
Fig. 11. In this figure, for the convenience of analysis, the
«0 0 0 D2 1 C2 »
« » branch consisting of u a , u b , uc and Ls and R is represented
«¬ S K1 C1 L2 C2 1 »¼ by e1 , e2 , e3 respectively, and Vo represents the DC-side
output voltage.
1 L1 2 D1 3 K2 4 D2 5
According to the definition of the connection matrix above,
S K1 C1 L1 the connection matrix G2 in (7) of this topology is obtained
C2
from Fig. 11.

6' 6
ua Ls Rs S1 S3 S5
Fig. 7. The transform of the directed graph ub Ls Rs +
Cd R
uc Ls Rs -
1 L1 2 C1 3

S K12 L2 S4 S6 S2
C2

Fig. 10. Three-phase voltage type PWM rectifier

D2
4 5 2
S1
Fig. 8. The directed graph after being combined 5
e1 S4
1 e2 3 S3
S6 Vo
L1 C1 D2 e3
S5
S2 6
S K12 L2 C2 R 4

Fig. 11. The directed graph of three-phase voltage type PWM rectifier

Fig. 9. Sepic converter

ª1 e1 e2 e3 0 0º
In short, to construct a new topology of power electronic, «e 1 0 0 S1 S4 »»
we must first cascade the basic topologies and draw a directed « 1
graph, then combine the switches and nodes according to the «e2 0 1 0 S3 S6 »
G2 « » (7)
common path, and finally convert the directed graph into a
« e3 0 0 1 S5 S2 »
new topology through adjustment. It helps to achieve new «0
functions. S1 S3 S5 1 Vo »
« »
¬« 0 S4 S6 S2 Vo 1 ¼» 
B. Analysis of Power Electronic Topologies The determinant of G2 is in (8):
After constructing a new power electronic topology, or for

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 F 1  2S1VoS4  2e3e1S1S2Vo  2S5 e3 e1S1  2S5S2S1S4 
2S5S2Vo  2S3 e2 e1S1  2S3S6Vo  2S6S1S3S4  2e3 e2S5S3 
2e3 e2S2S6  2S5 e3 e1VoS4  2e3 e1S2S4  2S3 e2 e1VoS4 
2S3 e2 e1S2S5S4  2e3 e2S5S6Vo  2e3 e2S1S2S3S4  2e3 e2S2S3Vo 
2e3 e2S1S5S4S6  2S3 e3 e1S2S1S6  2S3 e3 e1S5S4S6  2e2 e1S1S2S6S5 
2e2 e1S1S6Vo  2e2 e1S6S4  2S3S2S6S5
Since the switches of the same bridge arm can’t be in the
conducting state at the same time, the part containing the
S1 and S 4 , S 2 and S5 , S3 and S6 are removed. Besides, there
must be a switch in a switch loop, and the "1" in F should also
be ignored. The 24 switch loops are shown in (9).
F' 2e3 e1S1S2Vo  2S5 e3 e1S1  2S3 e2 e1S1  2e3 e2S5S3 
2e3 e2S2S6  2S5 e3 e1Vo S4  2e3 e1S2S4  2S3 e2 e1Vo S4 
2e3 e2S5S6Vo  2e3 e2S2S3Vo  2e2 e1S1S6Vo  2e2 e1S6S4
After sorting out, we can get Table 1, which is consistent
with the actual three-phase voltage type PWM rectifier
switching path.
distribution zone. Line segments represent the transmission
corridors with the value on them. The problem can be
simplified and converted into the problem of the shortest path
(8) and the minimum spanning tree in graph theory essentially. By
finding the shortest path, the location of the substation can be
determined. The corresponding minimum spanning tree is the
best distribution lines.
For example, the 6 power distribution zones in a city area
are equivalent to 6 nodes. The transmission corridors between
the zones are shown in Fig. 12. The two zones without
connection lines can only transmit power through other zones
(e.g. The power of V1 can’t be transmitted directly to V2 but
can be transmitted via path V1-V3-V2). The number on the line
represents the relative distance between the two zones.
To determine the location of the substation, the point
where the sum of transmission distances to the remaining
(9) points is the shortest must firstly be determined. Here
Dijkstra’s algorithm is used to determine the shortest path
between any two nodes [11], and a symmetric matrix H is
obtained, where the element hij represents the shortest
distance from the node Vi to the node Vj ( 1 d i d 6 , 1 d j d 6 ),
as shown in (10).

TABLE I. THREE-PHASE VOLTAGE TYPE PWM RECTIFIER SWITCH LOOPS

ª 0 10 7 8 6 9 º
Swith Conducting Swith Loops «10 0 3 8 10 9 »
Mode Components « »
1 S1S2S6 e3e1S1S2Vo e2e1S1S6Vo e3e2S2S6 « 7 3 0 5 7 6»
S2S3S4 S3e2e1VoS4 e3e2S2S3Vo e3e1S2S4
H=« » (10)
2 « 8 8 5 0 2 1»
3 S1S2S3 e3e1S1S2Vo e3e2S2S3Vo S3e2e1S1 « 6 10 7 2 0 3 »
4 S4S5S6 S5e3eV
1 oS4 e3e2S5S6Vo e2 e1S6S4 « »
¬« 9 9 6 1 3 0 ¼»
5 S5S6S1 e2e1S1S6Vo e3e2S5S6Vo S5e3e1S1

6 S5S4S3 S3e2e1VoS4 S5e3eV

1 oS4 e3e2S5S3 It can be calculated that the sum of the elements in the
S1S3S5 S5e3e1S1 S3e2e1S1 e3e2S5S3 fourth row is a minimum of 24, and V4 is the substation
7
location. Next, according to Kruskal's algorithm the minimum
8 S6S2S4 e3e1S2S4 e2 e1S6S4 e3e2S2S6
spanning tree is obtained [12], which is the best transmission
In some resonant switch converters, in addition to the lines, as shown by the thick line in Fig. 12.
normal electronic circuit, there are some hidden paths formed Of course, the above is only an idealization of the problem.
by the nonlinear state of components, distribution parameters In practice, constraints such as safety, reliability, operating
and many other factors due to poor design consideration. economy, and load level should be taken into consideration
These paths are known as submarine circuits. Submarine and substation location should be optimized by certain
circuits are highly concealed, but they can be found by graph algorithm.
theory. Besides the occurrence conditions of submarine
3
circuits can be deduced so as to avoid the appearance of them V2
V3
[9]. When a circuit goes wrong, graph theory can also be used 7
to locate erroneous switches [10].
5
IV. THE APPLICATION OF GRAPH THEORY IN DISTRIBUTION V1 10 V6
NETWORK 6 V4
1
2
A. Problems of Substation Location and Distribution Lines V5

The distribution network often involves the substation
location and the design of distribution lines. A point of load or
the intersection of lines should be a node in the line graph. To
simplify the calculation, the concentrated load in a certain area
with the similar load type can be regarded as a node and a
Fig. 12. The equivalent graph of distribution zones
B. Analysis of Electrical Connectivity
In the distribution network, the analysis of electrical
connectivity is the basis of the analysis of the entire

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distribution network system, and its main task is to form the
relationship between the components in the network according
to the switch state, and its essence is to use the mathematical
model of the nodes and lines to replace the physical model of
the buses and switches. The main part of the distribution
network is composed of buses, transformers, switches, and
other devices connected by wires. Due to the obvious features
of the points and lines in the structure, the method of graph
theory is very suitable [13]. The basic idea is to regard the
transformer as an electrical node, and switches, grounding
switchgears are used as the branches connecting the electrical
nodes. The availability of the branch depends on the state of
the switches and other devices [14]. The existing analysis
method of electrical connectivity is mainly the adjacency
matrix method based on graph theory, and the level of
connectivity between nodes can be determined by the power
of the matrix [15].
In addition, in the distribution network, it is also necessary
to use the graph theory to stratify the distribution network, and
then perform equivalent from bottom to top layer by layer,
which finally facilitates the reliability evaluation [16]. Failure
rate of each component of the distribution network can be
analyzed [17] and fault diagnosis and processing can be
performed [18]. At the same time, in order to improve the
voltage quality and reduce the loss of the power network, a
distribution network reconfiguration can be performed using a
graph theory-based genetic algorithm [19]. Based on this,
distribution network with distributed power supply can be
combined with the basic idea of graph theory, and a two-stage
method is used to comprehensively optimize the model [20].
V. CONCLUSION
This paper starts from the concepts and theorems of graph
theory, and exemplifies the application of graph theory in
electric network from different aspects. The knowledge of
graph theory can be used into the circuit calculation, the
construction and analysis of power electronic topologies, and
the related problems in distribution networks. The problem
can be showed by graphs and simplified through the idea of
graph theory. And then a solution from a different angle can
be obtained. With the continuous improvement of basic
theories, graph theory still has a broader prospect in the
electric network.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by Harbin Institute of
Technology Projects: JGJC 2017007 and XJG2017043
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