Fault Detection in Radial DC Distribution System Using Power Measurements

Abstract

The protection of microgrids can be challenging if traditional protective relays are used due to the change in the short circuit level, bidirectional power flow, and changes in system topology and operating conditions. This paper proposes a new protection scheme for fault detection in radial DC microgrids based on the magnitude of power. The proposed scheme is applied to a DC microgrid consisting of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems. The system under study is composed of two microgrids connected to two different buses on a radial DC feeder, while the load is connected to a third bus on the feeder. Each microgrid is composed of PV and battery energy storage. Power amplitude is used to detect the DC microgrid faults with a high degree of dependability and security. The proposed protection scheme is evaluated through different fault conditions.