2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT)

Fault Detection Isolation Restoration of an Active

Distribution Network

Vishakh KH Abhishek O Airavati S Aravind M Nair

Department of Electrical & Department of Electrical & Department of Electrical & Department of Electrical &
Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering
Amrita School of Engineering Amrita School of Engineering Amrita School of Engineering Amrita School of Engineering
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam
Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India
[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link] airavati97@[Link] aravindmanojnair@[Link]

Jithin Sunil Pratheek PR Dr. Manjula G Nair

Department of Electrical & Department of Electrical & Department of Electrical &
Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering
Amrita School of Engineering Amrita School of Engineering Amrita School of Engineering
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam
Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India
jithinsunil900@[Link] prpratheek@[Link] manjulagnair@[Link]

Abstract—A smart grid is an electrical grid that is integrated highly instrumented, data-rich, networked, and integrated and
with a computerized two-way communication network which managed as a complete “end to end” system [11]. The basic
includes a variety of operational and energy measures. A idea of smart grid is to make the existing centralized power
prominent feature of smart grid is its ability to self-heal. For the grid a decentralized or deregulated and consumer friendly one.
effective implementation of self-healing, the distribution section
[10] A smart grid puts information and communication
of the smart grid system should also be adequately advanced. In
this paper a self-healing protection network for the distribution technology into electricity generation, distribution, and
side is proposed. Self-healing protection systems utilize consumption by integrating it with advanced sensing
equipment that restores power automatically when a fault occurs technologies, control and communication methods and thus
in a line. Self-healing feature is achieved using the FDIR method. making it cleaner, reliable an efficient.
Suitable simulation software is used to model a 9-bus distribution
network with self-healing features and analyses the system In the smart grid, self-healing is a vital feature that aims to
behavior for various faults. The loads affecting power outages automate the healing process of the entire system. A self-
due to the faults are analyzed before and after the healing system can automatically mitigate power outages,
implementation of FDIR. Self-healing provides greater power quality problems, and power disruptions using real-
improvements in reliability and security of the grid and the loads time information from various embedded sensors kept at
affecting power outages can be decreased. various locations often referred to as agents and automated
controls to anticipate, detect, and respond to system problems.
Keywords—Grid, Smart Grid, Self-Healing, FDIR, reliability
The key to achieving the potential benefits of smart grids is to
successful build up Smart Grid Communications Network
I. INTRODUCTION
(SGCN). It can support all the features of the smart grid of
Electricity grid is considered as the most significant and which self-healing is one among. For the smart grid systems
essential engineering marvel of the last century. The “grid” to maintain high standards of reliability, the wireless
refers to the entire system that carries electricity from its networking and communication protocols used in the smart
generation point to its consumers at different locations. Power grid system must also provide means of efficient self-healing
grid, comprising of large number of generation units, long procedures. [7]
transmission lines, thousands of light and heavy loads and
much more is considered as the largest and the most complex The FDIR (Fault Detection Isolation and Restoration)
interconnected network on our planet. technique facilitates to the action of self-healing by supplying
power for consumers from alternate feeders during a feeder
Smart grids are now being used in the system, starting fault and would leave only the “faulted” section of the feeder
from the generation to the consumers. The concept of smart isolated without power until the fault is addressed.
grid is the combination of electrical infrastructure and
intelligence infrastructure. A successful Smart Grid must be
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978-1-5386-8190-9/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE

 2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT)

II. SELF HEALING IN SMART GRID

Self-healing of a grid is the ability to act against
disturbances in the grid and to secure the grid from further
spreading of the same by doing necessary FDIR actions. By
implementing self-healing the system can identify and rectify
any interruption in the system by its own. This is very
important in automation of distribution section of a power
system. This will ensure minimum restoration time, and
consistent power supply to maximum possible loads.

A. Types of Fault

Faults are physical conditions that cause a device to fail to

perform in the required manner. Faults in electrical system are
associated with abnormal change in current, voltage and
frequency. Electrical Faults in a three-phase power system are
classified into symmetrical faults and asymmetrical faults.
Asymmetrical faults are very common fault and it is less
severe than symmetrical faults. They are mainly three types
line to ground (L-G), line to line (L-L) and double line to
ground fault (LL-G). Symmetrical faults are infrequent faults
they are mainly of two types line to line to ground (LLL-G)
and line to line to line (LLL) fault, only 2-5 percentage of the
faults in the gird are symmetrical fault but during these types
of fault system remains balanced as a results very high current
flow occurs in the grid resulting severe damage to the
electrical power system equipment.

B. Protection Schemes

The main objective of power system protection is to isolate a

faulty section of electrical power system from the rest of the Fig 1. Single line diagram of the system
live system so that the rest portion can work satisfactorily.
The three main parts of protective devices are instrument
transformer, Relay and Circuit breaker. In the power system
(Distributed Energy Source). First section includes 4 loads
protection coordination is handled by dividing the power
and it is powered by Generator 1 and DES. Second Section
system into protective zones. Different zones in power system also has 4 loads and powered by Generator 2. Third section
are generator, buses, transformers, and transmission and contains the remaining 3 loads and generator 3 powers those
distribution lines. For protection of transmission line over loads. The Distributed Energy Source is closely associated
current relay or distance protection scheme are used. For the with 2 loads which makes the system active. Load flow
protection of buses Differential relay scheme are used for the analysis was done taking 100kVA as base power, frequency as
protection of generator and transformer different types of 50Hz and maximum number of iterations as 50. Report of the
load flow analysis was used to study how loads are handling
relay are used independently or in combination with other
by the system and its stability. Figure 1 shows the single
relay to provide protection. diagram of the system under study.
III. ACTIVE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS IV. FDIR IMPLEMENTATION
A nine-bus active system consisting of 4 generators and 11
FDIR or Fault Detection Isolation and Restoration is the
loads is developed in SIMULINK/MATLAB. Total system
key component to the implementation of self-healing in a
includes 3 swing buses, 6 PQ buses. The total system is
smart distribution network. It detects feeder faults and
divided into 3 sections. A generator of small rating is
implements suitable algorithms to ensure that the consumers
connected to one of the PQ bus is considered as the DES
get the power leaving only the faulted part isolated. FDIR

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 2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT)

hence helps to increase the reliability of the system along with

reduction in cost. Figure 2 shows an example of FDIR and
each step involved in effective implementation of FDIR.
Locating the fault is the first and foremost step in FDIR after
locating the fault, next step is to isolate the fault. This will
protect the rest of the grid from the fault. Restoration is the
final and most complicated step. In this there is a need to
restore power to maximum possible loads by identifying the
easiest and efficient route. This rerouting supply is done with
the help of sectionalizing breakers.
To implement the self-healing, the FDIR strategy is used as
above mentioned. In the nine-bus system developed in
Simulink, symmetrical 3 Line to Ground fault or LLLG fault
were given to 6 different points. Using three phase V-I
measurement tool all loads and generators were analyzed and
the fault current was estimated. V-I response of one of the
sources (Generator 1) during fault is shown in Figure 4. This
shows the fault current drawn from the source. From the result Fig 3. Over current relay model with pick up current of 1000A
the pick-up current needed for the overcurrent relays were
determined. During each fault, the numbers of loads affected To identify the position of the fault 7 over current relays
were noted and loads were studied on the basis of the were placed in suitable positions in the system. These relays
availability of any rerouting network. Some loads will be in senses for the pre-programmed pick up current which is the
close proximity with fault which will be completely isolated fault current. Therefore, by taking all relay outputs the branch
during fault isolation procedure. So rerouting of power to in the system where the fault has occurred can exactly be
those loads is not possible. Remaining loads can be rescued identified. Hence for each specific relay output sequence a
from power outages by rerouting supply from other generators particular fault case is defined and finally for each case a
with the help of sectionalizing breakers. So, for proper proper breaker operation algorithm is developed. To observe
rerouting to each fault were taken as cases, and for each cases the result logic analyzer is used, so that all loads can be
algorithms were developed for proper breaker switching. The monitored simultaneously along with each fault. Load power
over current relays were modeled in Simulink using its interruption before and after FDIR implementation is
sensing delay, pickup current value and reset time. The relay analyzed.
model used is shown in Figure 3.
V (Volts)
I (Ampere)

Fig 2. Example showing FDIR implementation in a network [19]

Fig 4. V-I response of load 1 when a fault occurs

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 2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT)

V. SELF-HEALING USING FDIR IN A SMART Case 3 and Case 4: Fault 3 and Fault 4 are given at different
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM locations of another section which is entirely powered by
Generator 2. Therefore, the loads affected by power outage
Logic Analyzer output before and after self-healing
are Load 4, Load 5, Load 6 and Load 7 in both cases.
were analyzed and from the load flow analysis the total active
and reactive power generated, the total active and reactive Case 5 and Case 6: Fault 5 and Fault 6 are given at different
power losses, total active and reactive power of PQ load and locations of another section which is entirely powered by
bus voltage and its voltage angles are obtained. When fault Generator 3. Therefore, the loads affected by power outage
occurs in a line a huge fault current above 1000 A is drawn are Load 9, Load 10, and Load 11 in both cases.
from the main generators and a current above 200A from the
DES generator. In order to protect the generator from the fault B. Logic Analyzer output with re-routing
an over current is designed for the system with the help of the
above data. The relay will sense the fault current and it will After implementing the FDIR algorithm on the system, it is
give a signal to the corresponding circuit breaker. again analyzed for the previous fault conditions and the logic
Subsequently the fault is isolated and the loads in the faulty analyzer output is shown in fig 6.
area experiences power outage. The area that is unaffected
gets power from an alternate source. With the help of proper Case 1: After FDIR implementation, power to Load 3 and
fault detection, isolation and breaker configurations, rerouting Load 8 is restored after a delay of 0.1s (which is the relay
algorithm is developed and hence the self-healing property is operating delay). Power to load 3 and 8 is rerouted from
implemented on the system so that the system will reroute the Generator 2 due to the action of appropriate circuit breakers.
power on its own and ensure less power outages to the loads
during a fault. Case 2: Power to Load 1 and load 2 is restored from
Generator 1.
A. Logic Analyzer output without re-routing
Case 3: Power to Load 6 and load 7 is restored by rerouting
All six faults and 11 loads was observed using logic the power from Generator 1.
analyzer. Load current was monitored for 13 seconds
(simulation time) and six LLLG faults were given at various Case 4: Power to Load 4 and load 5 is restored from
locations for 1 sec. After each second the corresponding fault Generator 2.
is removed and the system again moves back to its initial
Case 5: Power to Load 11 is restored from Generator 3.
state. The output is shown in Fig 5.
Case 6: Power to Load 9 and load 10 is restored by rerouting
Case 1 and Case 2: Fault 1 and Fault 2 are given at two the power from Generator 1.
different locations in the system which is completely powered
by Generator 1 and a distributed energy source (Generator 4).
In order to protect the generators from the faults, the two
generators are isolated from the system such that all loads
connected to the line experience power outage. Here Load 1,
Load 2, Load 3 and Load 8 are the loads experiencing power
outage

Fig 6. Logic Analyzer output with re-routing

The voltage plot for the load 3 during a fault is shown in

Figure 7. It can be observed that during of fault, the voltage
becomes zero. Within a short span of time, power is restored
to the load by rerouting from another generator. A small delay
Fig 5. Logic Analyzer output without re-routing

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 2019 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT)

in time for the operation of the relays and the circuit breakers [10] Farhan H. Malik: “A review: Agents in smart grids”, Electric Power
Systems Research 131 (2016) 71–79 2015
is observed.
[11] Steve Bou Ghosn:“Agent-oriented Designs for a Self-Healing Smart
Grid”, 978-1-4244-6511-8/10 2010 IEEE
[12] Ruchi Gupta: “A Multi-Agent Based Self-Healing Smart Grid”, 978-1-
47992522-3/13 2013 IEEE
[13] [Link] and N. D. Hatziargyriou, “Operation of a Multi-agent
System for Microgrid Control”, IEEE Trans. Power systems, Vol.20,
No.3, pp. 1447-1455, 2005
[14] V. C. Sankar, Raghunath, J., and Dr. Manjula G. Nair, “Optimal
Scheduling and Energy Management of a Residential Hybrid
Microgrid”, in 2017 Innovations in Power and Advanced Computing
Technologies”, i-PACT 2017, 2017
[15] Aboelsood Zidan, “A cooperative multiagent framework for self-healing
mechanisms in distribution networks” , IEEE transactions on smart grid,
vol.3, No.3, Sept 2012
Fig 7. Voltage Plot for load 3 [16] Sreelekshmi R.S., Prasad, A., and Dr. Manjula G. Nair, “Control and
operation of microgrid connected Hybrid Energy Storage System”, 2016
International Conference on Energy Efficient Technologies for
VI. CONCLUSION Sustainability, ICEETS 2016, 2016
[17] V. C. J. Sankar, Sreehari, P., and Dr. Manjula G. Nair, “Optimal
Self-healing feature of smart grid was implemented in an Scheduling of an Islanded Urban Micro Grid”, in 2017 Innovations in
active distribution network containing 11 loads and 4 Power and Advanced Computing Technologies (i-PACT), 2017
generators. In order to do this Fault Detection Isolation and [18] Sreelekshmi R.S., Ashok A., and Dr. Manjula G. Nair, “A fuzzy logic
controller for energy management in a PV battery based microgrid
Restoration technique is used. When a fault occurs in the system”, 2017 IEEE conference on technological advancements in
system, the relays kept at various positions senses the power and energy TAP energy 2017
[19] U.S. Department of Energy “U.S. Department of Energy |December
corresponding fault current, detects the location of the fault 2014 “Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration Technologies
and sends the signal to operate the appropriate circuit breakers Reduce Outage Impact and Duration” December 2014
to isolate the fault. After the detection and isolation of the
fault, the non-affected but blacked out loads are given supply
through a different path or from another source with the help
of appropriate circuit breaker actions whose triggering signals
are given according to a predefined restoration algorithm.
Hence the FDIR (Fault Detection Isolation and Restoration)
operation is successfully implemented in the system i.e. the
system can effectively heal itself. This increases the reliability
and efficiency of the system by reducing the number of power
outages and chances of blackouts.

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