Fault Detection, Isolation and Service Restoration in Modern Power Distribution Systems: A Review
Author(s): Aakanksha Upadhyay
Publication #: 2601001
Date of Publication: 06.09.2024
Country: India
Pages: 1-12
Published In: Volume 10 Issue 5 September-2024
Abstract
Reliable operation of modern electric power distribution systems is critically dependent on the speed and effectiveness with which faults are detected, isolated and service is restored. Fault Detection, Isolation, and Service Restoration (FDIR) has therefore become a fundamental task of distribution automation and self-healing smart grids with direct impact on utility reliability indices, such as SAIDI and SAIFI. This review aims to give an extensive review of FDIR in distribution networks with a deliberate focus on conventional and well-established techniques as opposed to emerging artificial intelligence-driven techniques. The paper initially explains the basic FDIR process and system architecture, which explains how faults are detected, isolated and bypassed by network reconfiguration using protective devices, sectionalizing switches, SCADA systems and fault indicators. Centralized, distributed and hybrid control architectures are then analyzed, pointing out their respective trade-offs in terms of speed, optimality, scalability, communication dependence and operational resilience. An in-depth comparison of the traditional service restoration strategies, such as rule-based expert systems, heuristic algorithms, fuzzy logic, mathematical programming, meta-heuristic methods, multi-agent methods, etc., is presented from a practical utility standpoint. The review shows that although sophisticated optimization methods can provide near-optimum restoration plans, more simple deterministic and rule-based methods are still very effective for most real-world feeder fault scenarios, because of their transparency, reliability, and fast running time. The paper concludes that modern FDIR implementations have the greatest benefits from a layered or hybrid philosophy that combines fast local automated responses with centralized coordination, thus benefitting from decades of proven engineering practice and allowing for the growing complexity of modern distribution networks.
Keywords: Fault Detection, Isolation and Service Restoration, Distribution Automation, Distribution Network Reconfiguration, Rule-Based Expert Systems, Service Restoration Algorithms, Smart Grid Reliability
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