A Multi-Agent Based Technique for Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration

This paper presents a communication-assisted fault localization, isolation and restoration method for microgrids based on a multiagent system (MAS). The proposed system comprises distributed agents, located in the middle and at the two ends of a protection section, which will detect a fault through phase angle comparison of current signals at both sides of a given distribution line. The agents then send trip signal to corresponding circuit breakers accordingly. The importance of the proposed protection technique is twofold: first, it eliminates the use of voltage transformers and thus reduces costs. Second, it does not require transfer of data along long distances which decreases the delay time for fault isolation. Power restoration processes following the fault clearance considering voltage, frequency and power flow constraints in the microgrid under study was also performed. Simulation of the proposed protection methodology was presented followed by experimental verification. The experimental results showed excellent agreement with the simulated protection scheme.