Simultaneous capacitor allocation and conductor sizing in unbalanced radial distribution systems using differential evolution algorithm

Abstract

This paper proposes a planning approach for unbalanced radial distribution systems (URDS) for simultaneous capacitor allocation and conductor size selection. A differential evolution (DE) based algorithm is implemented in order to obtain the optimal location and the ratings of capacitors, and the optimal conductor sizes of the distribution systems. The total system real power loss is minimized without violating the voltage and thermal constraints of each bus and lines. A three-phase load flow algorithm for unbalanced distribution systems is used as a subroutine for power flow calculations. The performance of the proposed method is verified on 19-bus and 34-bus unbalanced radial distribution systems. The results show that significant reduction in total system power loss and improvement in voltage profile of the systems is achieved by simultaneous optimization of capacitor location and ratings and conductor sizes.