Control and protection analysis for power distribution in a distributed generation system

Abstract

Distributed Generation systems based on renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar are mostly intermittent sources, due to their dependency on the weather, whereas those based on other primary energy sources are non-intermittent. All of them are specially designed to be integrated into distribution systems, in order to improve the power demand of consumers. In the last few decades of the twentieth century, several different factors have played a key role in increasing interest in systems. Distributed Generation (DG) is gaining more and more attention worldwide as an alternative to large-scale central generating stations. The aim of this research project is to investigate the contribution of distributed generation in fault current level in a power distribution system. The simulation results indicate that DG can have a positive or negative impact, on the fault current level in distribution network systems. The DG location and size affect the fault level. The second aim of this research was to suggest a model-based method for design, and implementation of a protection scheme for power distribution systems, by establish algorithms in a hardware environment. The overcurrent relay was chosen for the model development because it is considered a simple and popular protection scheme, and it is a common scheme in relaying applications. The proposed relay model was tested for fault conditions applied on a simple power system in different scenarios. The overcurrent relay model was implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, by using MATLAB programming languages and the SimPowerSystem (SPS) Tool. MATLAB/SIMULINK software is applicable to the modelling of generation, transmission, distribution and industrial grids, and the analysis of the interactions of these grids. This software provides a library of standard electrical components or models such as transformers, machines, and transmission lines. Therefore, the modelling and simulations are executed using MATLAB/Simulink version 2014b