LU Factorization Algorithm with Minimum Degree Ordering in Power Distribution Network Problems

Abstract

Power systems computations for nowadays common large distributed systems typically involve the usage of very large sparse matrices, whose analysis and verification is very time and memory consuming. When blocked, sparse matrices can be processed much more efficiently, and this made blocked sparse matrices widely used in acquiring solutions for power system problems. The established sparse matrix storage and reordering techniques however do not fully utilize the existing computer architecture, thus search for efficient sparse system solution is ongoing. This paper presents adjustments of well-known LU factorization algorithm suitable for use in power distribution network applications. LU factorization algorithm processes data in blocks and uses minimum degree ordering to accelerate the computations.