Three-Phase Analysis of Active Losses on Conventional and Compact Distribution Networks

This study aims to analyze the performance of conventional distribution network with covered cables called compact ones, with those with bare cables, which are still used in old distribution lines since they are cheaper than the covered ones. However, nowadays almost all the electricity companies started to study the feasibility of the installation of compact distribution lines because of its benefits regarding maintenance and reduction of outages. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the technical losses of compact distribution networks when compared to the conventional ones. For this purpose, electrical conductors were modelled using ATP software and the results were taken to MATLAB software to perform a three-phase power flow calculation by the Newton-Raphson method. Three different topologies of distribution networks have been tested: a real system composed by bare and covered cables, a conventional system with only bare cables and a compact one with only covered cables. The simulation results demonstrated that the efficiency of the second topology is better than the others.