Hierarchical interface eases power system simulation

Powerful simulation tools for studying power systems have been developed which span the full range of power system problems, from load flow to fast transients. When many of these tools were first developed, the user interface consisted of batch processing with punched-card input. These interfaces have been improved over the years but remain a principal drawback to effective use of many of these tools. Generally, the user has to prepare a data file that is highly format dependent. This work is tedious, error-prone, and difficult to document. The data file is flat and fundamental component based. This article describes a graphic interface prototype that removes the traditional problems encountered in building models for power system simulators. By using this interface users are set free from the minute details of the simulator´s input format and can concentrate on creative model building