New type of protection and control method for smart distribution grid

In considering the future smart distribution grid (SDG), the protection and control technology of traditional distribution networks is facing new opportunities and challenges. This presentation proposes a multi-agent system (MAS) based protection and control method for smart distribution grids. The MAS consists of an intelligent distributed terminal (IDT), control master and communication network. Each IDT is regarded as a single agent. By information interaction, the IDT is able to fulfil the functions of protection, fault location, fault isolation, network reconfiguration, power supply restoration and diagnosis. The first part of this presentation introduces the structure of the SDG, the structure of the IDT and the structure of the MAS. The second part discusses in detail the new protection method, the fault isolation method and the supply restoration strategy. In the new protection scheme, the combination of current differential protection and fast current protection is used as the main protection method. The protection algorithm and operation logic among different agents are analysed in detail. To evaluate the proposed protection method, an EMTDC (ElectroMagnetic Transient Direct Current) based simulation is carried out, which includes the modelling of a 10-kV distribution network with distributed generation (DG), fault simulation on the model and results analysis. The simulation results show that the new protection method is feasible and that the new protection algorithm is correct. The simulation-related content is reported in the last part of this presentation.