Getting started

Welcome to the PyRAMSES documentation! PyRAMSES (Python-based RApid Multithreaded Simulation of Electric power Systems) is a time-domain dynamic simulator for electric power systems. It provides a Python interface to the RAMSES simulation engine, enabling users to define test cases, run simulations, extract results, and perform post-processing—all within Python scripts or Jupyter notebooks.

PyRAMSES supports both Windows and Linux operating systems and integrates with standard scientific Python libraries (NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib).

Installation

PyPI version

Install PyRAMSES and its dependencies via pip:

pip install matplotlib scipy numpy mkl jupyter ipython pyramses

For a minimal installation (no plotting or notebook support):

pip install pyramses

MKL dependencies

The simulator depends on the Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL) for LAPACK/BLAS and OpenMP. These are automatically installed as dependencies when installing via pip. To verify MKL is available:

python -c "import numpy; numpy.show_config()"

Look for blas_mkl_info or lapack_mkl_info in the output confirming MKL is linked.

Installing Gnuplot (optional)

PyRAMSES can display observables in real-time during simulation using Gnuplot (see Runtime observables). This is particularly useful for long simulations to monitor progress.

Install Gnuplot from the official website, or via your system package manager:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get install gnuplot-x11

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install gnuplot

Note

Gnuplot must be in the system PATH. Check availability with pyramses.__runTimeObs__, which is True if Gnuplot was found at import time.

Suggested References for RAMSES

AFC14

P. Aristidou, D. Fabozzi, and T. Van Cutsem. Dynamic simulation of large-scale power systems using a parallel schur-complement-based decomposition method. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, 25(10):2561–2570, Oct 2014. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2268/156230, doi:10.1109/TPDS.2013.252.

ALC16

P. Aristidou, S. Lebeau, and T. Van Cutsem. Power system dynamic simulations using a parallel two-level schur-complement decomposition. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 31(5):3984–3995, Sept 2016. URL: http://orbi.ulg.ac.be/handle/2268/189192, doi:10.1109/TPWRS.2015.2509023.

ALLVanCutsem16

P. Aristidou, S. Lebeau, L. Loud, and T. Van Cutsem. Prospects of a new dynamic simulation software for real-time applications on the hydro-quebec system. CIGRE Science & Engineering, 4(1):88–95, February 2016. URL: http://www.cigre.org/Menu-links/Publications/CIGRE-Science-Engineering.

AVanCutsem15

P. Aristidou and T. Van Cutsem. A parallel processing approach to dynamic simulations of combined transmission and distribution systems. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 72:58–65, Nov 2015. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2268/178765, doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2015.02.011.