Controller Hardware In Loop (C-HIL) Validation of Non-Standard Tripping Characteristics Based Relay Coordination Scheme for Microgrids

To meet ever-increasing load demand and to re-duce carbon footprints, integration of renewable-based power generation in the form of distributed generation (DGs) gives birth to the concept of microgrids. However numerous challenges needs to be addressed for the successful operation of microgrids including protection coordination issues. The magnitude and fault current direction vary considerably with the varying modes of microgrid operation, which may interfere the coordination among the protective relays present in the microgrids. As directional overcurrent relays are well-suitable for microgrid environments, the adoption of non-standard tripping curves was proposed, which is found to be superior to standard relay characteristics in terms of relay operational time. This work aims for the development of controller hardware in loop setup for validation of the performance of non-standard tripping curve of directional overcurrent relays for microgrid applications using real time digital simulator and typhoon HIL platform ensuring the effectiveness of the proposed protection scheme for real time applications.