A New Methodology for Automated Assessment of Fault Detection and Isolation Possibilities in Large Power Systems

摘要

Any power system, whether an integrated power system in an all-electric ship or a utility power system, needs to be highly reliable. Reliability of a complex system strongly depends on the monitoring possibilities of the system. The area of power system engineering that is concerned with fault detection and isolation is called protection. As power systems become more complex, current methods for their protection should be adjusted accordingly to meet the challenges associated with increased system complexity. The standard approach for power system protection is local, that is, current and voltage sensors are placed at or near individual breakers that can open in order to isolate a fault. Coordination between breakers is achieved indirecdy by setting the voltage or current trip points of the breakers differently so that they open in a desired sequence. Wide-area protection is a new research direction that provides protection at a more unified level, and often operates as a backup level of protection. However, these schemes are usually developed manually following heuristic considerations. This study proposes a new methodology based on the structural analysis of control theory, and provides the possibility of a systematic and automated approach to global power-system protection.