Optimal Power Routing Research Articles

Optimal power routing scheme between and within interlinking converters in unbalanced hybrid AC–DC microgrids

An optimal power routing (OPR) scheme between and within interlinking converters (ICs) in unbalanced hybrid AC–DC microgrids to minimise the power imbalance factor at the point of common coupling, active power losses, and voltage deviation indices for microgrids in grid-connected operating mode is proposed in this study. These goals are achieved through a multi-objective optimisation model by optimal distributing of mobile loads between available charging stations and at the same time, OPR within three phases of three-phase four-lag AC/DC converters. Numerical results obtained from implementing the proposed method on the modified IEEE 13-bus system, as an unbalanced hybrid microgrid, and IEEE 34-bus test system, as an unbalanced distribution system, demonstrate that proposed OPR algorithm is successful to satisfy the optimisation goals. For this purpose, four case studies are defined and studied to demonstrate the unique features of the proposed OPR comparing with other power routing schemes. In addition to simulation results, the OPR scheme between ICs is realistically implemented at Florida International University smart grid testbed to show the effect of the power routing on energy losses reduction.

A Novel Cloud-Based Platform for Implementation of Oblivious Power Routing for Clusters of Microgrids

There has been an increasing demand for connectivity of the clusters of microgrids to increase their flexibility and security. This paper presents a framework for implementation, simulation, and evaluation of a novel power routing algorithm for clusters of microgrids. The presumed cluster is composed of multiple direct current (dc) microgrids connected together through multi-terminal dc system in a meshed network. In this structure, the energy is redirected from the microgrid with excessive power generation capacity to the microgrid which has power shortage to supply its internal loads. The key contribution of this paper is that each microgrid in the cluster is unaware of the current state and other flows of the cluster. In this approach, the optimal power flow problem is solved for the system while managing congestion and mitigating power losses. The proposed methodology works for both radial and non-radial networks regardless of the network topology, scale, and number of microgrids involved in the cluster. Therefore, it is also well suited for large-scale optimal power routing problems that will emerge in the future clusters of microgrids. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by MATLAB simulation. We also present a comprehensive cloud-based platform for further implementation of the proposed algorithm on the OPAL-RT real-time digital simulation system. The communication paths between the microgrids and the cloud environment can be emulated by OMNeT++.