Time Step Simulation: Input
See Also
The Input page contains several pages that can be grouped in four types: Input Pages, Schedule Pages, Time Step Actions Page, and Custom Inputs Pages.
Input Pages
The time point input pages (MW Loads, Mvar Loads, Actual MW Generation, Maximum Generation, Line Status, Area Loads, Zone Loads, and Injection Groups) are Matrix Grids that are used to specify data on an time point by time point manner. In order to tell Simulator that we want to specify time point data for a particular object type (e.g. load, generator, line, etc.) we need to add that particular object to the corresponding grid. For instance, suppose that you want to specify MW data for Load 1 at bus 1. Go to the MW Loads page, right-click and select Time Point records > Insert/Scale Load Column(s) to bring up the Insert/Scale Column Dialog. In this dialog, you can select the load and add it as a column to the MW Loads grid. The corresponding values at each time point for that particular load can then be entered in the grid.
Use the Area Loads and Zone Loads pages to specify the MW load for an entire Area or Zone at a particular time point. When Simulator applies the input data to solve a time point, it will scale the load of the specified area or zone to match the value entered for that time point.
Use the Injection Groups page to specify to total MW injection from an injection group at a particular time point. All loads and generators in an injection group will have their MW injection changed i proportion to their participation factor specified with the injection group to meet the specified MW injection. By default generators will have their minimum and maximum MW limits enforced. (Injection groups have their own set of options that can override the default options on this dialog if they are in use. See the Injection Group Specific Scaling Options topic for more information.) Mvar injections will not be modified as part of this input. If a zero injection value is specified for a time point, no modifications will be made to the injection group for that time point. To zero out the injection, change the value to a very small number, e.g. 0.01.
Schedule Pages
The schedule pages (Schedules page and Sched Subscriptions page) are used to specify scheduled input data, i.e., data that more naturally spans multiple time points rather than being defined at each time point. Examples of data that can be scheduled are scheduled transactions, generator statuses, line statuses, etc. For a detailed explanation on how to set up scheduled data, please read the Setting Up Scheduled Input Data section.
Time Step Actions Page
Use this page to specify Time Step Actions. These are conditional actions that can be applied during a time step simulation run if their Model Criteria evaluates to true for a specified time period.
Custom Inputs Pages
Custom inputs allow the selection of specific objects, object numeric fields, and the specification of what each selected field should be set to for a particular time point.
The top portion of this page is used to select the objects and fields and specify how the selection of objects and fields should be displayed in the grids contained on the bottom portion of the page. The selection of objects and fields for custom inputs is identical to the selection of objects and fields on the Results page.
Once the objects and fields have been selected, the grids will be updated with a column for each of the selected object and field combinations. Use these columns to specify the values for the selected fields at each time point.