Braess’ paradox in electrical power grids
This article applies the principle of Braess’ Paradox, originally likened to automobile traffic, to electrical output in power grids. Braess’ Paradox is an effect that shows that adding connecting edges can hinder a network’s efficiency. This phenomenon is not readily apparent, in that human intuition tends to indicate that adding a wider range of pathways should improve network performance.
The article focuses on the methods by which electrical power grids (essentially network graphs) counter dangerous fluctuation. There are two means by which this occurs: primary control and secondary control. Primary control had previously been thought of as the more viable of the two based on it’s generally quicker response time. However, the article goes on to say that new research has suggested that networks with primary control are prone to instability when new lines are added, the very definition of a Braess’ Paradox. On the other hand, networks with secondary control, while still slower in other cases, are unaffected by adding new lines. It went further to say that in order to completely rid a network of blackouts caused by Braess’ Paradox, secondary control would need to be installed at every node in the graph. For a network as large as world power grids, this is not entirely feasible, but still a step in the right direction.
Link: https://physicsworld.com/a/beating-braess-paradox-to-prevent-instability-in-electrical-power-grids/