arXiv subjects

Xinliang Dai

Publications and source records attributed to Xinliang Dai.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Distributed Convex Second-Order Optimization for AC/DC Hybrid Distribution Systems within PROcess Orchestration Framework

Existing operation formulations for AC/DC distribution grid often oversimplify the interplay of AC/DC interconnections and VSC characteristics. Moreover, current distributed algorithms depend on gradient-based methods, which achieve only linear convergence rates and struggle to scale efficiently for large systems. This paper proposes a convex ALADIN variant that exploits second-order derivatives of convex subproblems, achieving locally quadratic convergence for distributed nonlinear but convex optimization problems. Then, this convex ALADIN is applied to a separable AC/DC OPF model for AC/DC hybrid distribution grid, explicitly incorporating complicated AC/DC interconnections and multiple droop-controlled VSCs while retaining computational traceability. To bridge theory with practice, we implement the distributed convex second-order optimization framework using the PROcess Orchestration Framework, a co-simulation platform that automates workflow design, model integration, and distributed execution via a user-friendly graphical interface, eliminating manual coding. Numerical results illustrate effectiveness of the proposed model.

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arXiv2026

Distributed AC Optimal Power Flow: A Scalable Solution for Large-Scale Problems

This paper introduces a novel distributed optimization framework for large-scale AC Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problems, offering both theoretical convergence guarantees and rapid convergence in practice. By integrating smoothing techniques and the Schur complement, the proposed approach addresses the scalability challenges and reduces communication overhead in distributed AC OPF. Additionally, optimal network decomposition enables efficient parallel processing under the single program multiple data (SPMD) paradigm. Extensive simulations on large-scale benchmarks across various operating scenarios indicate that the proposed framework outperforms the state-of-the-art centralized solver IPOPT on modest hardware. This paves the way for more scalable and efficient distributed optimization in future power system applications.

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arXiv2026

Distributed coordination for transmission-distribution systems with nonlinear flexibility aggregation

High shares of distributed energy resources (DERs) transform distribution systems into active participants in integrated transmission and distribution (ITD) operations. Linear models enable scalable distribution-level flexibility aggregation but can misclassify AC feasible operating points, whereas direct nonlinear aggregation becomes costly, especially in multiperiod ITD coordination. This paper reformulates transmission-distribution coordination within a hierarchical optimization framework and introduces a non-iterative predictor-corrector aggregation method. By leveraging path-following techniques from real-time optimal control, the approach achieves tractable computation with guaranteed error bounds. Across 24 radial distribution-network cases and seven meshed variants, including the real KIT Campus North grid, the proposed method yields substantially lower sampled false- and lost-flexibility rates than linear surrogates and a convex relaxation. On two 24-period ITD testcases, the formulation reduces end-to-end wall-clock time by factors of 6 relative to the corresponding centralized formulation, primarily through dimensionality reduction.

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arXiv2026

Analyzing Performance and Scalability of Benders Decomposition for Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning Models

Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning (GTEP) problems co-optimize generation and transmission expansion, enabling them to provide better planning decisions than traditional Generation Expansion Planning or Transmission Expansion Planning problems, but GTEPs can be computationally complex or intractable. Benders Decomposition (BD) has been applied to expansion planning problems, with various methods applied to accelerate convergence. In this work, we test strategies for improving the performance of BD on GTEP models with nodal resolution and DCOPF constraints. We also present an alternative approach for handling the bilinear constraints that can result in these problems. These tests included combinations of using generalized Benders decomposition (GBD), hot-starting via a transport constrained model, using linear relaxations of the master problem, and using regularization. We test these methods on mixed-integer linear programming GTEP models with up to 146 buses (10 million continuous variables and 400 mixed-integer decisions). With selected accelerated Benders decomposition approaches, the problems can be solved to under a 1\% gap in as little as 5 hours where they were otherwise intractable. Results also suggest that using regularization on these initial hot-starting and relaxation steps and turning it off after they are complete was generally the best combination of strategies.

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arXiv2025

Error Accumulation using Linearized Models for Aggregating Flexibility in Distribution Systems

This paper investigates flexibility aggregation approaches based on linear models. We begin by examining the theoretical foundations of linear AC power flow, two variants of so-called DC power flow, and the LinDistFlow model, along with their underlying assumptions. The discussion covers key system details, including network topology, voltage constraints, and line losses. Simulations are conducted on the KIT Campus Nord network with real demand and solar data. Results show that, in the absence of negative losses, line losses are generally underestimated by linear models. Furthermore, line losses errors tend to accumulate both at the point of common coupling (PCC) and over extended time horizons.

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arXiv2025

Enhanced Flexibility Aggregation Using LinDistFlow Model with Loss Compensation

With the increasing integration of renewable energy resources and the growing need for data privacy between system operators, flexibility aggregation methods have emerged as a promising solution to coordinate integrated transmissiondistribution (ITD) systems with limited information exchange. However, existing methods face significant challenges due to the nonlinearity of AC power flow models, and therefore mostly rely on linearized models. This paper examines the inherent errors in the LinDistFlow model, a linearized approximation, and demonstrates their impact on flexibility aggregation. To address these issues, we propose an intuitive compensation approach to refine the LinDistFlow-based flexibility set. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in efficiently coordinating ITD systems.

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arXiv2024

Industrial Application of the Shapley value-based Redispatch Cost Allocation to Large-Scale Power Grids requires AC Optimal Power Flow

A burgeoning topic in the current energy transition are the huge costs of redispatch congestion management (CM) in large transmission systems. One of the German transmission system operators (TSOs) raised the critical inquiry of how to allocate the redispatch costs amongst TSOs in an equitable and beneficial way. Previously, a Shapley value-based approach has been introduced on small test grids, using the linear DC approximation of optimal power flow (OPF). However, within the application of CM, its feasibility and accuracy for large-scale power grids and its impact on the computed congestions remain uncertain. Therefore, this study investigates the applicability of the DC OPF compared to the exact AC OPF with regard to the Shapley values, for both small and large-scale grids. Numerical simulation shows significant differences in the congested lines, the overall redispatch costs, and the Shapley values. These findings suggest that for future CM, the TSOs should further investigate AC OPF solutions.

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arXiv2024

Ensuring Data Privacy in AC Optimal Power Flow with a Distributed Co-Simulation Framework

During the energy transition, the significance of collaborative management among institutions is rising, confronting challenges posed by data privacy concerns. Prevailing research on distributed approaches, as an alternative to centralized management, often lacks numerical convergence guarantees or is limited to single-machine numerical simulation. To address this, we present a distributed approach for solving AC Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problems within a geographically distributed environment. This involves integrating the energy system Co-Simulation (eCoSim) module in the eASiMOV framework with the convergence-guaranteed distributed optimization algorithm, i.e., the Augmented Lagrangian based Alternating Direction Inexact Newton method (ALADIN). Comprehensive evaluations across multiple system scenarios reveal a marginal performance slowdown compared to the centralized approach and the distributed approach executed on single machines -- a justified trade-off for enhanced data privacy. This investigation serves as empirical validation of the successful execution of distributed AC OPF within a geographically distributed environment, highlighting potential directions for future research.

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arXiv2024

Real-Time Coordination of Integrated Transmission and Distribution Systems: Flexibility Modeling and Distributed NMPC Scheduling

This paper proposes a real-time distributed operational architecture to efficiently coordinate intergrated transmission and distribution systems (ITD). At the distribution system level, the distribution system operator (DSO) computes the aggregated flexibility of all controllable devices by power-energy envelopes and provides them to the transmission system operators. At the transmission system level, a distributed nonlinear MPC approach is proposed to coordinate the economic dispatch of multiple TSOs, considering the aggregated flexibility of all distribution systems. The subproblems of the proposed approach are associated with different TSOs and individual time periods. In addition, the aggregated flexibility of controllable devices in distribution networks is encapsulated, re-calculated, and communicated through the power-energy envelopes, facilitating a reduction in computational complexity and eliminating redundant information exchanges between TSOs and DSOs, thereby enhancing privacy and security. The framework's effectiveness and applicability in real-world scenarios are validated through simulated operational scenarios on a summer day in Germany, highlighting its robustness in the face of significant prediction mismatches due to severe weather conditions.

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arXiv2024

Advancing Distributed AC Optimal Power Flow for Integrated Transmission-Distribution Systems

This paper introduces a distributed operational solution for coordinating integrated transmission-distribution (ITD) systems regarding data privacy. To tackle the nonconvex challenges of AC optimal power flow (OPF) problems, our research proposes an enhanced version of the Augmented Lagrangian based Alternating Direction Inexact Newton method (ALADIN). This proposed framework incorporates a second-order correction strategy and convexification, thereby enhancing numerical robustness and computational efficiency. The theoretical studies demonstrate that the proposed distributed algorithm operates the ITD systems with a local quadratic convergence guarantee. Extensive simulations on various ITD configurations highlight the superior performance of our distributed approach in terms of convergence speed, computational efficiency, scalability, and adaptability.

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arXiv2023

Hypergraph-Based Fast Distributed AC Power Flow Optimization

This paper presents a novel distributed approach for solving AC power flow (PF) problems. The optimization problem is reformulated into a distributed form using a communication structure corresponding to a hypergraph, by which complex relationships between subgrids can be expressed as hyperedges. Then, a hypergraph-based distributed sequential quadratic programming (HDQ) approach is proposed to handle the reformulated problems, and the hypergraph-based distributed sequential quadratic programming (HDSQP) is used as the inner algorithm to solve the corresponding QP subproblems, which are respectively condensed using Schur complements with respect to coupling variables defined by hyperedges. Furthermore, we rigorously establish the convergence guarantee of the proposed algorithm with a locally quadratic rate and the one-step convergence of the inner algorithm when using the Levenberg-Marquardt regularization. Our analysis also demonstrates that the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is much lower than the state-of-art distributed algorithm. We implement the proposed algorithm in an open-source toolbox, i.e., rapidPF, and conduct numerical tests that validate the proof and demonstrate the great potential of the proposed distributed algorithm in terms of communication effort and computational speed.

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arXiv2022

Rapid Scalable Distributed Power Flow with Open-Source Implementation

This paper introduces a new method for solving the distributed AC power flow (PF) problem by further exploiting the problem formulation. We propose a new variant of the ALADIN algorithm devised specifically for this type of problem. This new variant is characterized by using a reduced modelling method of the distributed AC PF problem, which is reformulated as a zero-residual least-squares problem with consensus constraints. This PF is then solved by a Gauss-Newton based inexact ALADIN algorithm presented in the paper. An open-source implementation of this algorithm, called rapidPF+, is provided. Simulation results, for which the power system's dimension varies from 53 to 10224 buses, show great potential of this combination in the aspects of both the computing.

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arXiv2022

Distributed Optimal Power Flow for VSC-MTDC Meshed AC/DC Grids Using ALADIN

The increasing application of voltage source converter (VSC) high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) technology in power grids has raised the importance of incorporating DC grids and converters into the existing transmission network. This poses significant challenges in dealing with the resulting optimal power flow (OPF) problem. In this paper, a recently proposed nonconvex distributed optimization algorithm -- Augmented Lagrangian based Alternating Direction Inexact Newton method (ALADIN), is tailored to solve the nonconvex AC/DC OPF problem for emerging voltage source converter (VSC) based multiterminal high voltage direct current (VSC-MTDC) meshed AC/DC hybrid systems. The proposed scheme decomposes this AC/DC hybrid OPF problem and handles it in a fully distributed way. Compared to the existing state-of-art Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers(ADMM), which is in general, not applicable for nonconvex problems, ALADIN has a theoretical convergence guarantee. Applying these two approaches to (VSC-MTDC) coupled with an IEEE benchmark AC power system illustrates that the tailored ALADIN outperforms ADMM in convergence speed and numerical robustness.

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arXiv2020

Distributed Power Flow and Distributed Optimization -- Formulation, Solution, and Open Source Implementation

Solving the power flow problem in a distributed fashion empowers different grid operators to compute the overall grid state without having to share grid models-this is a practical problem to which industry does not have off-the-shelf answers. In cooperation with a German transmission system operator we propose two physically consistent problem formulations (feasibility, least-squares) amenable to two solution methods from distributed optimization (the Alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), and the Augmented Lagrangian based Alternating Direction Inexact Newton method (Aladin)); with Aladin there come convergence guarantees for the distributed power flow problem. In addition, we provide open source matlab code for rapid prototyping for distributed power flow (rapidPF), a fully matpower-compatible software that facilitates the laborious task of formulating power flow problems as distributed optimization problems; the code is available under https://github.com/KIT-IAI/rapidPF/. The approach to solving distributed power flow problems that we present is flexible, modular, consistent, and reproducible. Simulation results for systems ranging from 53 buses (with 3 regions) up to 4662 buses (with 5 regions) show that the least-squares formulation solved with aladin requires just about half a dozen coordinating steps before the power flow problem is solved.

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