Universal Adaptive Differential Wavelet Energy-Based Protection Scheme for an AC Microgrid

Abstract

A protection engineer’s top priorities are the detection of faults and the recognition of faulty phases. Modern distribution networks are interconnected; thus, any breakdown poses a hazard to the entire system. One of the challenges with microgrids is developing an effective protection scheme. In this paper, a new scheme has been proposed that effectively detects faults in the grid-connected, as well as off-grid modes also radial and looped topology of the microgrid. The scheme can adapt to the system changes and even detects the high resistance faults in a low-voltage distributed feeder. Moreover, various non-fault events such as load switching, capacitor switching, DG outage, section cutoff, and external faults have also been considered for evaluation. The performance of the scheme has also been tested for changes in fault inception angles, fault types, fault locations, simultaneous, evolving, and composite faults. The suggested method has also been tested using real-time data from the OPAL-RT simulator. The results demonstrate that the suggested scheme is suitable for real-time practical applications for the protection of microgrid feeders. Further, a comparative study has been done to prove that the proposed scheme is better than several existing protection schemes considered in this paper.

Keywords:

• Microgrid protection
• discrete wavelet transform
• superimposed wavelet energy
• real-time implementation
• OPAL-RT

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sameep Sahu

Sameep Sahu received his B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from Odisha University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 2017 and M.Tech degree in Power System Engineering from National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India in 2023. He is currently working as Post Graduate Engineer Trainee in Alstom Transport India Pvt Ltd in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. His research interests include microgrid protection, power system protection, renewable energy applications and control engineering in the railway domain.

Salauddin Ansari

Salauddin Ansari received B.E. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India in 2015. He received the M.Tech. degree in power electronics and drives and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering both from National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, in 2019 and 2024 respectively. He is currently a Lecturer and Head with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Government Polytechnic Motihari, East Champaran, Bihar, India. His research interests include the microgrid protection and islanding detection.

Om Hari Gupta

Om Hari Gupta received B.Tech. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from UP Technical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India in 2007 and the M.Tech. degree in power electronics & ASIC design from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2011 and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India, in 2017. He is an awardee of the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship for research visiting Canada and from March 2017 to June 2017, he was a visiting Researcher at the Ontario Tech University, Canada. Since 2018, Dr. Gupta is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He is one of the founding organizing secretaries of the conference series “Electric Power and Renewable Energy Conference - EPREC”. Dr. Gupta is the author of four books and has more than 80 publications including 30 journal papers. He is a senior member of IEEE and a reviewer of many reputed journals like IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, IET Generation and Transmission, Electric Power Systems Research, Electric Power Components and Systems, and International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems. His research interests include power system protection, microgrid, renewable-based distributed generation, and electric power quality.