Application of Time-Voltage Characteristics in Overcurrent Scheme to Reduce Arc-Flash Incident Energy for Safety and Reliability of Microgrid Protection

Abstract

The interconnection between diverse Distribution Generations (DGs) that utilize various technologies and complex structure of networks are the most characteristic of modern Distribution Networks (DN). The wide adoption of DGs considerably affects the power flow dynamics in the DN and consequently the fault characteristics. The excessive level of fault currents can pose risks of heat (high temperature) and pressure in accordance to Arc Flash (AF) incident energy in microgrids. This research studies the relationship between AF severity and the solving of coordination problem of Overcurrent Relays (OCRs) in DN, and introduces a novel equation that considers the AF qualities in solving the coordination problem for OCRs. In this study, a novel optimization problem, the AF severity with the optimal coordination of OCRs in DN is presented and the Water Cycle Optimization Method (WCOM) is employed to find the best combination of the OCR’s settings in the DN while considering the AF induced energy. The proposed optimization approach and the novel equation are evaluated with an IEC microgrid and compared with the conventional protection method and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) used in optimizing the coordination of OCR in the DN. The optimal settings of the OCR scheme are achieved and examined on the modified IEC microgrid benchmark system. In order to verify the result, an industrial simulation package (ETAP) and OCR (GE Multiin, model-750/760) was used in this work.