Exploiting symmetry in the power flow equations using monodromy

We propose solving the power flow equations using monodromy. We prove the variety under consideration decomposes into trivial and nontrivial subvarieties and that the nontrivial subvariety is irreducible. We also show various symmetries in the solutions. We finish by giving numerical results comparing monodromy against polyhedral and total degree homotopy methods and giving an example of a network where we can find all solutions to the power flow equation using monodromy where other homotopy techniques fail. This work gives hope that finding all solutions to the power flow equations for networks of realistic size is possible.

A Comparison of Normal Cone Conditions for Homotopy Methods for Solving Inequality Constrained Nonlinear Programming Problems

Homotopy methods are powerful tools for solving nonlinear programming. Their global convergence can be generally established under conditions of the nonemptiness and boundness of the interior of the feasible set, the Positive Linear Independent Constraint Qualification (PLICQ), which is equivalent to the Mangasarian-Fromovitz Constraint Qualification (MFCQ), and the normal cone condition. This paper provides a comparison of the existing normal cone conditions used in homotopy methods for solving inequality constrained nonlinear programming.