Applications of symbolic computation to power system analysis and teaching

This paper describes the history and use of symbolic computation in power systems, from the tools used for power system analysis such as power flows, to its application in the classroom to facilitate the explanation and understanding of complex models and concepts such as device modeling and simulation. An example of the use of symbolic computation to develop a basic power flow program with the help of MATLAB^®, and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of Jacobians in the solution process is discussed in detail.