Optimal coordination of overcurrent relays in microgrids using a metaheuristic approach

S.D. Saldarriaga-Zuluaga, C.D. Zuluaga-Ríos, N. Muñoz-Galeano, J.M. López-Lezama

International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology Vol. 13, nº. 9, pp. 2213 - 2218

Summary:

One of the key technical issues in the practical implementation of microgrids is their protection coordination scheme. The protection coordination of a microgrid must be able to meet the basic protection requirements of selectivity, sensitivity and reliability for several operation modes or topologies. This paper presents an optimal coordination approach of overcurrent relays in microgrids that can be used for several operation modes or topologies. The protection coordination is solved by a genetic algorithm (GA). Several tests were performed on a benchmark IEC microgrid showing the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach. The proposed GA is able to find the protection coordination of overcurrent relays for several operative topologies guaranteeing coordination between main and backup relays.

Keywords: Genetic algorithms, microgrids, overcurrent relays, protection coordination.

DOI reference: https://doi.org/10.37624/IJERT/13.9.2020.2213-2218

Published on paper: 2020.

Citation:
S.D. Saldarriaga-Zuluaga, C.D. Zuluaga-Ríos, N. Muñoz-Galeano, J.M. López-Lezama, Optimal coordination of overcurrent relays in microgrids using a metaheuristic approach. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology. Vol. 13, nº. 9, pp. 2213 - 2218, 2020.