A fast fault location method based on detecting the minimum number of phasor measurement units using a novel adaptive binary differential evolution optimization algorithm

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper proposes a novel adaptive binary differential evolution optimization algorithm based on optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) and an intelligent strategy for fault location in power systems. The novelties of the proposed adaptive binary differential evolution optimization algorithm are that the proposed approach presents two new factors, namely, “weight factor” and “reduction factor”, in order to improve convergence speed and enhance the capability of the novel modified binary differential evolution optimization algorithm for detecting optimal placement of PMUs in large-scale problems. To investigate the capability of the proposed approach, it is applied to several IEEE test systems (IEEE 14 bus, IEEE 24 bus, IEEE 30 bus, IEEE 39 bus, and IEEE 57 bus test systems). In addition, a comparison with conventional optimization algorithms has been carried out. Then, according to the PMUs data, an intelligent fault location strategy will be proposed. The main advantages of the proposed intelligent fault location strategy are higher accuracy and speed than conventional fault location approaches. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.