Fault Prognosis in Smart Distribution System with Distributed Generation Using Fast Fourier Transform Assisted Machine Learning

Abstract

The affordability and accessibility of electrical data related to microgrids and active distribution networks (ADN) have significantly improved due to smart digital relays with advanced communication capabilities. These relays can communicate with each other and central protection systems. Due to data accessibility a machine learning (ML) based module is proposed. This module predicts both fault type and location within an IEEE 34 bus active distribution system featuring distributed generations. To design this module, current measurements are retrieved from five specified bus locations and further Fast Fourier Transform is applied for feature extraction. The feature creation method is much simpler without any complexity. These features are further used for ML module’s training. Practical ADN operating conditions are considered when curating the training dataset. Weighted K-nearest neighbors are used for fault type prediction and linear regression is applied for fault location estimation and they are proven to be superior to other ML approaches. The obtained results show high accuracy and reliability in predictions, making these modules suitable for ADN protection. They also exhibit robustness against input measurement noise, ensuring consistent protection in various operating scenarios. The ADN is simulated in SIMULINK 2020a, and ML modeling is done using MATLAB 2020a.