Identification Method for Critical Transmission Sections in Power Systems Based on Grid Partitioning and Power Flow Transfer Analysis

With the evolving complexity of modern power systems, accurately identifying critical transmission sections is crucial for security and stability assessment. This paper systematically investigates methods for identifying such critical transmission sections. Building upon existing approaches based on electrical partitioning or shortest-path algorithms, an integrated analytical method combining grid partitioning and power flow transfer factors is proposed. First, using high-voltage generator nodes as central nodes, the relay algorithm is employed to partition the grid, yielding initial transmission sections formed by interconnecting lines between partitions. Subsequently, the comprehensive line outage distribution factor is applied to quantify the vulnerability of lines under different fault conditions, thereby identifying critical transmission sections susceptible to power flow transfer impacts. Simulations on the IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 39-bus standard test systems validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, providing theoretical support and technical foundation for power grid security operation and risk prevention.