  This paper studies bifurcations in a three node power system when excitation
limits are considered. This is done by approximating the limiter by a smooth
function to facilitate bifurcation analysis. Spectacular qualitative changes in
the system behavior induced by the limiter are illustrated by two case studies.
Period doubling bifurcations and multiple attractors are shown to result due to
the limiter. Detailed numerical simulations are presented to verify the results
and illustrate the nature of the attractors and solutions involved.
