Coordinated Protection and Control Based on Synchrophasor Data Processing in Smart Distribution Networks

Modern distribution grids are shifting toward resilient and sustainable energy networks through the use of unprecedented number of distributed generation (DG) units and renewable energy sources. However, unlike conventional grids, they are also highly integrative in the sense that, centralized control applications must support critical protective actions to reliably provide power to consumers. To achieve this goal, this paper presents a novel mechanism for coordinated protection and control of DG systems under permanent line faults in distribution networks. First, a centralized fault detector employs voltage phasors and frequency data to identify and isolate the fault within a tolerance time. Upon fault detection, a secondary control algorithm retrieves archived synchrophasor datasets to calculate real and reactive power disturbances caused by the fault isolation. In this mechanism, the secondary controller facilitates voltage/frequency recovery by adapting reference points of local controllers to the postfault conditions. Coordination is carried out based on the knowledge of the response time of protective devices and communication delays in control links. The proposed approach is a promising paradigm for reliable networked protection and improved situational awareness in smart distribution networks.