Adaptive Protection Strategy in a Microgrid Under Disparate Operating Modes

Abstract

—Microgrids usually operate in grid-connected or islanded mode. Due to substantial variation in fault current, same protection coordination scheme cannot be applied in both modes. Moreover, network topology keeps on changing due to momentary events. In this paper, an adaptive protection strategy is proposed to avoid any miscoordination between numerical directional overcurrent relays under a fault instance. Through this scheme, the relay settings can be updated online as per the operating mode and prevailing topology. The proposed tactic employs a central protection center with data storage and programming capability, smart electronic devices and communication channels to acquire and transfer real-time data. The relay coordination problem is formulated as a non-linear optimization function, with coordination time interval constraints. The optimal relay settings under both operating modes are obtained through non-linear programming and hybrid genetic algorithm non-linear programming method. To handle contingencies of communication channel failure, a novel inclusive mode settings are also introduced to protect the system in both modes even with line or DG outages. The proposed adaptive approach is tested on a nine bus radial distribution system with DGs. It has been found that the proposed scheme provides reliable system protection under different operating scenario.