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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 15774

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hamed Hashemi-Dezaki

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Guest Editor

Regional Innovational Center for Electrical Engineering (RICE), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of West Bohemia (UWB), Pilsen, Czech Republic
Interests: power system protection; protective relaying; smart grid; microgrids; active distribution networks; power system reliability; power system optimization; cyber–physical systems; energy hubs; sustainable and renewable energy systems

Dr. Ali Karimi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
Interests: power systems operation and planning; electricity market; power system optimization; power system protection; smart grids; multi-energy systems; energy hubs; energy storage systems; sustainable and renewable energy systems

Dr. Hamed Nafisi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Dublin, Ireland
Interests: smart grids; peer-to-peer energy trading systems; microgrids; electric vehicles; cyber–physical systems; power system protection; low and zero inertia systems; power electronics application in power systems

Dr. Seyed Amir Hosseini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Group, Golpayegan College of Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Golpayegan, Iran
Interests: power system protection; protective relays; power system analysis; smart grids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Designing an appropriate protection system is one of the essential challenges in conventional power systems and smart grids. The reliable and secure protection of conventional generation, transmission, and distribution systems is crucial. However, the protection of modernized future grids toward smart grids encounters new challenges and opportunities. New challenges in energy system protection appear due to the increase in the penetration of renewable and non-renewable distributed generations. The changes in network topology and operation modes (islanded and grid-connected modes) intensify the new communicated adaptive protection schemes and novel communication-free ones. Smart communication-aided protection systems should be adopted for communication protocols, IEC 61850 requirements, and cyber–physical features. Although much attention has been paid to the protection of power systems and smart grids, there are still many challenges and research gaps that should be responded to by new research works and ideas. Developing protection schemes for electrical energy systems should consider selectivity, speed, reliability, resiliency, stability, and economic constraints. Investigating the comprehensive aspects of the protection system, particularly in smart grids, might be challenging.

This Special Issue encourages researchers to present the recent outputs and achievements in power system protection and smart grids. The concentrated research topic helps researchers source recent studies dealing with power systems and smart grid protection.

Topics on interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Power system protection;
Protection of microgrids and smart grids;
Protection system optimization;
Protective relays (overcurrent, distance, and differential);
Distribution and transmission system protection;
Relay testing technologies;
Determining the settings for protection relays;
Fault locating methods;
Wide area measurement, protection, and control (WAMPAC);
Adaptive protection;
Cyber–physical features of protection systems;
Protection of DC microgrids and inverter-based microgrids;
Special protection;
IEC 61850 & communication-aided protection systems;
Power system protection considering power quality challenges;
Hardware in the loop & real-time simulations in power system protection;
Instrument transformers, including current transformers and voltage transformers, based on IEC 61689 standards;
Automation and digitalized protection systems.

Dr. Hamed Hashemi-Dezaki
Dr. Ali Karimi
Dr. Hamed Nafisi
Dr. Seyed Amir Hosseini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

smart grid
microgrid
power system
relay
protection
IEC 61850
WAMPAC
protection coordination
digital relay
relay testing

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 6443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Non-Communication-Based Protection Coordination and Advanced Verification Method Using Fault Impedance in Networked Distribution Systems

by Juan Noh, Seungjun Gham, Myungseok Yoon, Wookyu Chae, Woohyun Kim and Sungyun Choi

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15593; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115593 - 3 Nov 2023

Viewed by 620

Abstract

In recent years, the networked distribution system (NDS), which is normally connected to the distribution line (DL), was actively studied as the topology of the future distribution system for reasons such as improving supply reliability, improving line utilization, and increasing the capacity of distribution generators (DGs). However, the NDS creates new issues in terms of protection coordination because of its bidirectional power flow and fault current flow. The issues associated with conventional protection schemes in the NDS include malfunction of protective devices due to bi-directional fault currents and failure of protection coordination due to communication failures between protective devices. When applying a conventional protection method in the NDS, the protection schemes become complicated, and there is a risk of protection coordination failure due to communication failure between protective devices. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an effective and innovative non-communication-based protection algorithm for protection coordination in the NDS. The proposed protection algorithm utilizes fault impedance characteristics, which allow not only determination of whether a fault occurred, but also the ability to identify the exact fault point. Therefore, the proposed method is expected to be sustainably utilized and contribute to developing protection schemes and devices in various system topologies and scenarios in the future. Additionally, this paper addresses the overall concept of hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) and directly verifies the proposed protection algorithm using HILS. Therefore, this study establishes a sustainable foundation for future research on protection coordination using HILS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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19 pages, 5020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on a Communication-Based Algorithm to Improve Protection Coordination under High-Impedance Fault in Networked Distribution Systems

by Juan Noh, Seungjun Gham, Myungseok Yoon, Wookyu Chae, Woohyun Kim and Sungyun Choi

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15399; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115399 - 28 Oct 2023

Viewed by 986

Abstract

The rising demand for stable power supply in distribution systems has increased the importance of reliable supply. Thus, a networked distribution system (NDS) linked with individual lines is being adopted, gradually replacing the radial distribution system (RDS) currently applied to most distribution systems. Implementing the NDS can lead to various improvements in factors such as line utilization rate, acceptance rates of distributed power, and terminal voltages, while mitigating line losses. However, compared with the RDS, the NDS can experience bidirectional fault currents owing to its interconnected lines, thereby hindering protection coordination, which must be addressed before the NDS can be implemented in real-world power systems. Due to the characteristics of NDS, the reverse fault current is relatively small. However, this phenomenon becomes more severe when the high impedance fault (HIF) occurs. In this paper, the malfunction of protective devices during the HIF is directly verified and analyzed in the NDS. As a result, when the HIF occurs, the issue of the reverse protective device malfunctioning worsens because of a reduction in fault current and a failure in direction detection. To solve this issue, this work proposes a communication-based protection algorithm. Through the comparative verification of the proposed algorithm and the conventional protection method, protection coordination can be secured in the case of an HIF without new devices. It must be highlighted that the proposed method does not affect the settings of the protective device and provides a cost-effective and efficient solution since this algorithm is added independently to the existing relay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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21 pages, 6846 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Approach for Elimination of Defects of Blocking and Unblocking in Distance Relays during Power Swing

by Amirreza Mehri, Kazem Mazlumi, Hamed HashemiDezaki, Mohammad Hasan Mansouri and Ramin Mahyaei

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13435; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813435 - 7 Sep 2023

Viewed by 732

Abstract

In power systems, distance relays are commonly employed as the primary protection for transmission lines, and their operation is of utmost importance. Power swings are a type of phenomenon that can lead to improper functioning of conventional distance relays, posing a threat to the uninterrupted flow of electrical power. The occurrence of a power swing disrupts the impedance measured by the relay, causing it to deviate from the normal load condition and enter the relay tripping zones. This research paper introduces a novel method based on the Prony method for extracting current waveform components, enabling fault detection during power swings. Subsequently, the proposed method’s accuracy is assessed through simulations implemented on a nine-bus power system, involving three-phase current signal processing and the application of the proposed algorithm. Various fault scenarios encompassing varying fault distances from the relay position, fault resistances, and power angles within the 9-bus system are simulated to encompass a wide range of fault environments. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in detecting all types of faults, including symmetrical and asymmetrical faults, during power swings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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17 pages, 2875 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Artificial-Intelligence-Based Open-Circuit Fault Diagnosis in VSI-Fed PMSMs and a Novel Fault Recovery Method

by Khaled A. Mahafzah, Mohammad A. Obeidat, Ayman M. Mansour, Ali Q. Al-Shetwi and Taha Selim Ustun

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16504; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416504 - 9 Dec 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2103

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are widely used in fault diagnosis because they are superior in detection and prediction. The detection of faults in power systems containing electronic components is critical. The switch faults of the voltage source inverter (VSI) have a severe impact on the driving system. Short-circuit switches increase the thermal stress due to their fast and high stator currents. Additionally, open-circuit switches cause unstable motor operation. However, these issues are not sufficiently addressed or accurately predicted for VSI switch faults in the literature. Thus, this paper investigates the use of different AI classifiers for three-phase VSI fault diagnosis. Various AI methods are used, such as naïve Bayes, support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN), and decision tree (DT) techniques. These methods are applied to a VSI-fed permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) to detect the faults in the inverter switches. These methods use the drain–source voltage and PWM signals to decide whether the switch is healthy or unhealthy. In addition, they are compared in terms of their detection accuracy. In this regard, the comparative results show that the DT method has the highest accuracy as compared to other methods in the fault diagnosis process. Moreover, this paper proposes a novel and universal voltage compensation loop to compensate for the absence of the voltage portion due to the open switch fault. Thus, the driving system is assisted in operating under its normal operating conditions. The universal term is used because the proposed voltage compensation loop can be implemented in any type of inverter. To validate the results, the proposed system is implemented using two software programs, LTSPICE XVII-USA, WEKA 3.9-New Zealand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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25 pages, 7438 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Proposing a New Approach to Generate the Differential Trajectory of the Differential Relays Using COMTRADE Files

by Seyed Amir Hosseini, Ali Akbar Nazari, Behrooz Taheri, Farzad Razavi and Hamed Hashemi-Dezaki

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13953; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113953 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1582

Abstract

The differential relay is subject to transient events such as inrush current, which may affect its correct operation. Therefore, evaluating the reliable and accurate operation of differential relays is important, which is only possible by mapping the relay’s differential trajectory on its setting curve. However, except for the SIGRA software, creating a differential trajectory only for Siemens relays, there is a gap in developing a method to extract this trajectory for other commercial differential relays. Hence, in this paper, a new method for generating the differential trajectory of the differential relay from their six input currents and mapping it on the relay setting curve is presented. The proposed method uses the differential relay COMTRADE files to access the relay input currents during an incident. The currents recorded in the COMTRADE files belong to the secondary sides of the current transformers (CTs). Accordingly, the impacts of the current transformers’ connections and the protected transformer’s connection type should be considered in the proposed study. The ability of the proposed method to generate the differential trajectory for different incidents that occurred on the power transformers is evaluated using simulation studies and also according to the experimental tests. The results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method in generating the differential trajectory from the COMTRADE files. In addition, comparing the results of the proposed method with the results created in SIGRA software shows the higher accuracy of the proposed method in producing the differential trajectory of the differential relay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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22 pages, 4128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pilot Protection Based on Zero-Sequence Current Resistance-Capacitance Component for Large-Scale Inverter-Interfaced Power Stations

by Qian He, Gong He, Zheng Li, Meichen Lin, Gexiang Zhang and Xuedong Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13268; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013268 - 15 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1301

Abstract

At present, zero-sequence current protection is generally used as the main protection for single-phase ground faults in resistance-grounded inverter power stations. However, limited by the principle, it is difficult for current protection to take into account selectivity and rapid action when the neutral point resistance is large, so there is protection mismatch with the inverter-type power supply for low voltage ride through leads to the risk of large-scale disconnection of non-fault lines. Aiming at the above problems, firstly, a fault analysis model of the inverter power station considering the capacitance to ground is established to study the distribution characteristics of resistive and capacitive zero-sequence currents in the collection system, when single-phase ground short circuit occurs on different types of lines. Then, based on the characteristic difference between the resistance and capacitance components of the zero-sequence current flowing through the two ends of the tie line in case of internal and external faults, a zero-sequence pilot protection algorithm is formed. Compared with the traditional zero-sequence current differential protection, the proposed protection algorithm only transmits logic information without synchronous sampling, and has significant economy. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed protection algorithm are verified by an engineering simulation example. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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19 pages, 5943 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Fault Detection and Classification Strategy for Photovoltaic Distribution Network Using Improved Hilbert–Huang Transform and Ensemble Learning Technique

by Younis M. Nsaif, Molla Shahadat Hossain Lipu, Aini Hussain, Afida Ayob, Yushaizad Yusof and Muhammad Ammirrul A. M. Zainuri

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11749; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811749 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1502

Abstract

Due to the increased integration of distributed generations in distributed networks, their development and operation are facing protection challenges that traditional protection systems are incapable of addressing. These problems include variations in the fault current during various operation modes, diverse distributed network topology, and high impedance faults. Therefore, appropriate and reasonable fault detection is highly encouraged to improve the protection and dependability of the distributed network. This paper proposes a novel technique that employs an improved Hilbert–Huang Transform (HHT) and ensemble learning techniques to resolve these challenges in a photovoltaic distributed network. First, improved HHT is utilized to extract energy features from the current signal. Second, variational mode decomposition (VMD) is applied to extract the intrinsic mode function from the zero component of the current signal. Then, the acquired energy feature and intrinsic mode function are input to the ensemble learning technique for fault detection and classification. The proposed technique is implemented using MATLAB software environment, including a classification learner app and SIMULINK. An evaluation of the results is conducted under normal connected mode (NCM) and island mode (ISM) for radial and mesh-soft normally open point (SNOP) configurations. The accuracy of the ensemble bagged trees technique is higher when compared to the narrow-neural network, fine tree, quadratic SVM, fine-gaussian SVM, and wide-neural network. The presented technique depends only on local variables and has no requirements for connection latency. Consequently, the detection and classification of faults using the proposed technology are reasonable. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed technique is superior to the neural network and support vector machine, achieving 100%, 99.2% and 99.7% accurate symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault detection and classification throughout NCM, ISM, and dynamic operation mode, respectively. Moreover, the developed technique protects DN effectively in radial and mesh-SNOP topologies. The suggested strategy can detect and classify faults accurately in DN with/without DGs. Additionally, this technique can precisely detect high and low impedance faults within 4.8 ms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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17 pages, 13863 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Analysis of Overcurrent Protection in a Digital Substation with Process Bus

by Oscar A. Tobar-Rosero, John E. Candelo-Becerra and Germán Zapata

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7958; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137958 - 29 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1801

Abstract

The digitization of electrical substations brings great challenges for the commissioning of electrical protections, and interoperability tests must be performed with different equipment. Therefore, this work evaluates the response time of an electrical protection relay operating with sampled values in a digital substation with a process bus. A test scheme is proposed to emulate the process bus based on analyzing the main components in a digital substation with multi-vendor device interoperability. In addition, the delay times of the protection relay with the process bus are measured, considering interoperable infrastructure as a fundamental factor in the system performance. The results are compared with the response times of a conventional relay that operates with analog signals to identify the impact of the digitalization of signals in electrical substations with a process bus. Each relay has an instantaneous overcurrent function adjusted to operate with the same pickup currents at different fault current levels. The results show that tripping times are admissible for the operation of the protection relays, considering three-time measuring points in the test scheme. The time delays found are related to high data traffic in the communication network and the traffic saturation according to the time measuring point. Other delays related to processing SVs in an MU do not represent a risk for the protection scheme. For the industry, the methods presented in the research are useful for configuring and testing electrical substations with different equipment and topologies. In addition, the results presented here seek to generate confidence in companies and engineering teams when migrating to systems with digital substations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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17 pages, 5162 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distributed Generation Management in Smart Grid with the Participation of Electric Vehicles with Respect to the Vehicle Owners’ Opinion by Using the Imperialist Competitive Algorithm

by Hassan Shokouhandeh, Mehrdad Ahmadi Kamarposhti, Fariba Asghari, Ilhami Colak and Kei Eguchi

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084770 - 15 Apr 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1794

Abstract

In this paper, a modified version of Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) is proposed for the optimal energy management of a Microgrid (MG) with Parking Lots (PL) and Distributed Generation (DG) units. A 24-h scheduling for participation in DG units and electric vehicles PLs in two scenarios is done. The PLs are divided into seven group that each group has different trip behavior. Therefore, energy management should be done in such a way as to minimize operating costs according to the charging status of electric vehicles as well as the production capacity of distributed generation sources. Finally, the results of the two scenarios are reviewed separately and compared. The simulation results proved the effectiveness of the proposed method. The MG operation cost is decreased about 63%. Also, the optimization results. The optimization results by the proposed ICA algorithm are compared with the results of genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarming optimization (PSO) algorithms. The optimization results confirm better performance of the proposed algorithm compared to GA and PSO algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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Review

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15 pages, 3267 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review of Power Control Methods for a Variable Average Power Load Model Designed for a Microgrid with Non-Controllable Renewable Energy Sources

by Mantas Zelba, Tomas Deveikis, Saulius Gudžius, Audrius Jonaitis and Almantas Bandza

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 9100; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15119100 - 5 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1110

Abstract

Microgrid systems may employ various combinations of system designs to connect generating units, and the number of different system designs increases exponentially upon adding different brands of inverters to a system. Each of the different microgrid system designs must be set up in a way that it works in balance. An example of an unbalanced microgrid system is given in this paper, with the main issue being the non-predictive excess power, which causes a frequency rise and faulty conditions in the microgrid system. There are many simple options for controlling excess power in a microgrid system; however, none of these options solve the issue permanently while ensuring excess power control without affecting the system’s accumulated energy—the battery state-of-charge (SOC) level. Therefore, there is a need to create a variable average power load (VAPL) device to utilize the excess power at a rate it is changing to avoid a reduction in accumulated energy. The main goal of this study is to review average power control methods for the VAPL device and provide guidance to researchers in selecting the most suitable method for controlling excess power. A key finding of the paper is a suggested optimal average power control method ensuring that the VAPL device is versatile to implement, economically attractive, and not harmful to other devices in a microgrid system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Power System Protection)

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