Wireless Communication Assisted Over Current Protection of Radial Distribution System

Loss of power experienced is mainly due to the presence of faults and unbalanced demand in transmission and distribution lines. Over current faults caused by over demand can damage the entire system. The work aims to develop an intelligent system with directional overcurrent relay to detect over current faults in the radial distribution system isolate it and to automatic reclose the Solid State Circuit Breaker. This smart system consists of sensors which are integrated with Arduino and communication is done wirelessly through ZigBee modules. The work utilizes solid state circuit breakers instead of conventional circuit breakers as it has high speed of operation without arcing, high resistance to shock and vibration, consistency of characteristics because of absence of wear and tear as it has no moving mechanical parts, no deterioration due to frequent operation, providing long life and improved reliability. In case of severe fault conditions like permanent faults, or failure of the protection system, GSM module is incorporated in the system to send messages to the utility.