A Novel Multi-Objective Protection Coordination Scheme for a Microgrid with Optimal Deployment of Dual-Setting ROCOV Based Relays

Relay coordination is crucial in electrical power systems to protect against malfunctions and damage caused by unexpected events like short circuits. To address the challenge associated with the reverse direction of fault current, dual-setting (DS) directional over-current relays have evolved but failed to provide proper coordination during changes of load, generation, and network. In the meantime, with the increasing number of DS relays, the total relay operating time tends to saturate. Therefore, this paper proposes a protection scheme based on the optimal deployment of conventional and dual-setting rate of change of voltage (DS-ROCOV) relays in distribution systems. This holds true for varying network topologies and is unaffected by variations in load and generation. The objective of the proposed scheme is to ensure reliable and efficient protection against faults in distribution systems by minimizing the overall operating time with the optimal number of DS-ROCOV relays. The proposed protection scheme's performance is evaluated for different coordination time interval values as well as in different microgrid scenarios. This paper outlines the design and implementation of the proposed protection scheme which is validated on the modified IEEE 14-bus system using simulations in Matlab/Simulink.