A Graph Theory Method for Identification of a Minimum Breakpoint Set for Directional Relay Coordination

Journal Article · 20 November 2019 · Electronics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8121376 · OSTI ID:2377026

Matthews, Ronald C. ^[1]; Reno, Matthew J. ^[1]; Summers, Adam K. ^[1]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dept. of Electric Power Systems Research

The energy grid becomes more complex with increasing penetration of renewable resources, distributed energy storage, distributed generators, and more diverse loads such as electric vehicle charging stations. The presence of distributed energy resources (DERs) requires directional protection due to the added potential for energy to flow in both directions down the line. Additionally, contingency requirements for critical loads within a microgrid may result in looped or meshed systems. Computation speeds of iterative methods required to coordinate loops are improved by starting with a minimum breakpoint set (MBPS) of relays. A breakpoint set (BPS) is a set of breakers such that, when opened, breaks all loops in a mesh grid creating a radial system. A MBPS is a BPS that consists of the minimum possible number of relays required to accomplish this goal. In this paper, a method is proposed in which a minimum spanning tree is computed to indirectly break all loops in the system, and a set difference is used to identify the MBPS. The proposed method is found to minimize the cardinality of the BPS to achieve a MBPS.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 2377026
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1575769
• Report Number(s): SAND-2019-11946J; ELECGJ; 680053
• Journal Information: Electronics, Vol. 8, Issue 12; ISSN 2079-9292
• Publisher: MDPICopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English