| Summary: | Liberalized electricity markets, increased awareness of clean energy resources and theirdecreasing costs have resulted in large numbers of distributed power generators beinginstalled on distribution network. Installation of distributed generation has altered thepassive nature of distribution grid. A concept of Active Distribution Network is proposedwhich will enable present day infrastructure to host renewable energy resources reliably.Fault management that includes fault localization, isolation and service restoration ispart of active management of distribution networks.This thesis aims to introduce a distributed protection methodology for fault localizationand isolation. The objective is to enhance reliability of the network. Faults are identifiedbased on root mean square values of current measurements and by comparing thesevalues with preset thresholds. The method based on multi-agent concept can be usedto locate the faulty section of a distribution network and for selection of faulty phases.The nodal Bus Agent controls breakers that are associated with it. Based on indicationof fault, adjacent bus Agents communicate with each other to identify location of fault.A trip signal is then issued to corresponding Breakers in adjacent Bus Agents, isolatingthe faulty section of line. A case study was carried out to verify suitability of the proposedmethod. A meshed network model and multi-agent based protection scheme wassimulated in Simulink SimPowerSystems. Considering nature of Distribution Network,separate breakers for each phase are considered. The distribution network protectionsystem identified fault introduced in the network correctly along with interrupting thefault current.Keywords
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