A Study of Grounding Grid Characteristics with Conductive Concrete

The purpose of this paper is to improve electromagnetic characteristics on grounding grid by applying the conductive concrete. The conductive concrete in this study is under an extra high voltage (EHV, 345kV) system located in a high-tech industrial park or science park. Instead of surrounding soil of grounding grid, the application of conductive concrete can reduce equipment damage and body damage caused by switching surges. The focus of the two cases on the EHV distribution system in a high-tech industrial park is presented to analyze four soil material styles. By comparing several soil material styles, the study results have shown that the conductive concrete can effectively reduce the negative damages caused by electromagnetic transient. The adoption of the style of grounding grid located 1.0 (m) underground and conductive concrete located from the ground surface to 1.25 (m) underground can obviously improve the electromagnetic characteristics so as to advance protective efficiency.

An Hybrid Approach for Loss Reduction in Distribution Systems using Harmony Search Algorithm

Individually Network reconfiguration or Capacitor control perform well in minimizing power loss and improving voltage profile of the distribution system. But for heavy reactive power loads network reconfiguration and for heavy active power loads capacitor placement can not effectively reduce power loss and enhance voltage profiles in the system. In this paper, an hybrid approach that combine network reconfiguration and capacitor placement using Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) is proposed to minimize power loss reduction and improve voltage profile. The proposed approach is tested on standard IEEE 33 and 16 bus systems. Computational results show that the proposed hybrid approach can minimize losses more efficiently than Network reconfiguration or Capacitor control. The results of proposed method are also compared with results obtained by Simulated Annealing (SA). The proposed method has outperformed in terms of the quality of solution compared to SA.

NSGA Based Optimal Volt / Var Control in Distribution System with Dispersed Generation

In this paper, a method based on Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA) has been presented for the Volt / Var control in power distribution systems with dispersed generation (DG). Genetic algorithm approach is used due to its broad applicability, ease of use and high accuracy. The proposed method is better suited for volt/var control problems. A multi-objective optimization problem has been formulated for the volt/var control of the distribution system. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm based method proposed in this paper, alleviates the problem of tuning the weighting factors required in solving the multi-objective volt/var control optimization problems. Based on the simulation studies carried out on the distribution system, the proposed scheme has been found to be simple, accurate and easy to apply to solve the multiobjective volt/var control optimization problem of the distribution system with dispersed generation.

Optimum Time Coordination of Overcurrent Relays using Two Phase Simplex Method

Overcurrent (OC) relays are the major protection devices in a distribution system. The operating time of the OC relays are to be coordinated properly to avoid the mal-operation of the backup relays. The OC relay time coordination in ring fed distribution networks is a highly constrained optimization problem which can be stated as a linear programming problem (LPP). The purpose is to find an optimum relay setting to minimize the time of operation of relays and at the same time, to keep the relays properly coordinated to avoid the mal-operation of relays. This paper presents two phase simplex method for optimum time coordination of OC relays. The method is based on the simplex algorithm which is used to find optimum solution of LPP. The method introduces artificial variables to get an initial basic feasible solution (IBFS). Artificial variables are removed using iterative process of first phase which minimizes the auxiliary objective function. The second phase minimizes the original objective function and gives the optimum time coordination of OC relays.

Determination of Sea Transport Route for Staple Food Distribution to Achieve Food Security in the Eastern Indonesia

Effectiveness and efficiency of food distribution is necessary to maintain food security in a region. Food supply varies among regions depending on their production capacity; therefore, it is necessary to regulate food distribution. Sea transportation could play a great role in the food distribution system. To play this role and to support transportation needs in the Eastern Indonesia, sea transportation shall be supported by fleet which is adequate and reliable, both in terms of load and worthiness. This research uses Linear Programming (LP) method to analyze food distribution pattern in order to determine the optimal distribution system. In this research, transshipment points have been selected for regions in one province. Comparison between result of modeling and existing shipping route reveals that from 369 existing routes, 54 routes are used for transporting rice, corn, green bean, peanut, soybean, sweet potato, and cassava.

Coordinated Voltage Control using Multiple Regulators in Distribution System with Distributed Generators

The continued interest in the use of distributed generation in recent years is leading to the growth in number of distributed generators connected to distribution networks. Steady state voltage rise resulting from the connection of these generators can be a major obstacle to their connection at lower voltage levels. The present electric distribution network is designed to keep the customer voltage within tolerance limit. This may require a reduction in connectable generation capacity, under utilization of appropriate generation sites. Thus distribution network operators need a proper voltage regulation method to allow the significant integration of distributed generation systems to existing network. In this work a voltage rise problem in a typical distribution system has been studied. A method for voltage regulation of distribution system with multiple DG system by coordinated operation distributed generator, capacitor and OLTC has been developed. A sensitivity based analysis has been carried out to determine the priority for individual generators in multiple DG environment. The effectiveness of the developed method has been evaluated under various cases through simulation results.

Capacitor Placement in Distribution Systems Using Simulating Annealing (SA)

This paper undertakes the problem of optimal capacitor placement in a distribution system. The problem is how to optimally determine the locations to install capacitors, the types and sizes of capacitors to he installed and, during each load level,the control settings of these capacitors in order that a desired objective function is minimized while the load constraints,network constraints and operational constraints (e.g. voltage profile) at different load levels are satisfied. The problem is formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem with a nondifferentiable objective function. Four solution mythologies based on algorithms (GA),tabu search (TS), and hybrid GA-SA algorithms are presented.The solution methodologies are preceded by a sensitivity analysis to select the candidate capacitor installation locations.

Analytical Study of Sedimentation Formation in Lined Canals using the SHARC Software- A Case Study of the Sabilli Canal in Dezful, Iran

Sediment formation and its transport along the river course is considered as important hydraulic consideration in river engineering. Their impact on the morphology of rivers on one hand and important considerations of which in the design and construction of the hydraulic structures on the other has attracted the attention of experts in arid and semi-arid regions. Under certain conditions where the momentum energy of the flow stream reaches a specific rate, the sediment materials start to be transported with the flow. This can usually be analyzed in two different categories of suspended and bed load materials. Sedimentation phenomenon along the waterways and the conveyance of vast volume of materials into the canal networks can potentially influence water abstraction in the intake structures. This can pose a serious threat to operational sustainability and water delivery performance in the canal networks. The situation is serious where ineffective watershed management (poor vegetation cover in the water basin) is the underlying cause of soil erosion which feeds the materials into the waterways that intern would necessitate comprehensive study. The present paper aims to present an analytical investigation of the sediment process in the waterways on one hand and estimation of the sediment load transport into the lined canals using the SHARC software on the other. For this reason, the paper focuses on the comparative analysis of the hydraulic behaviors of the Sabilli main canal that feeds the pumping station with that of the Western canal in the Greater Dezful region to identify effective factors in sedimentation and ways of mitigating their impact on water abstraction in the canal systems. The method involved use of observational data available in the Dezful Dastmashoon hydrometric station along a 6 km waterway of the Sabilli main canal using the SHARC software to estimate the suspended load concentration and bed load materials. Results showed the transport of a significant volume of sediment loads from the waterways into the canal system which is assumed to have arisen from the absence of stilling basin on one hand and the gravity flow on the other has caused serious challenges. This is contrary to what occurs in the Sabilli canal, where the design feature which incorporates a settling basin just before the pumping station is the major cause of reduced sediment load transport into the canal system.Results showed that modification of the present design features by constructing a settling basin just upstream of the western intake structure can considerably reduce the entry of sediment materials into the canal system. Not only this can result in the sustainability of the hydraulic structures but can also improve operational performance of water conveyance and distribution system, all of which are the pre-requisite to secure reliable and equitable water delivery regime for the command area.

Investigating the Impact of Wind Speed on Active and Reactive Power Penetration to the Distribution Network

Wind power is among the most actively developing distributed generation (DG) technology. Majority of the wind power based DG technologies employ wind turbine induction generators (WTIG) instead of synchronous generators, for the technical advantages like: reduced size, increased robustness, lower cost, and increased electromechanical damping. However, dynamic changes of wind speed make the amount of active/reactive power injected/drawn to a WTIG embedded distribution network highly variable. This paper analyzes the effect of wind speed changes on the active and reactive power penetration to the wind energy embedded distribution network. Four types of wind speed changes namely; constant, linear change, gust change and random change of wind speed are considered in the analysis. The study is carried out by three-phase, non-linear, dynamic simulation of distribution system component models. Results obtained from the investigation are presented and discussed.

A New Distribution Network Reconfiguration Approach using a Tree Model

Power loss reduction is one of the main targets in power industry and so in this paper, the problem of finding the optimal configuration of a radial distribution system for loss reduction is considered. Optimal reconfiguration involves the selection of the best set of branches to be opened ,one each from each loop, for reducing resistive line losses , and reliving overloads on feeders by shifting the load to adjacent feeders. However ,since there are many candidate switching combinations in the system ,the feeder reconfiguration is a complicated problem. In this paper a new approach is proposed based on a simple optimum loss calculation by determining optimal trees of the given network. From graph theory a distribution network can be represented with a graph that consists a set of nodes and branches. In fact this problem can be viewed as a problem of determining an optimal tree of the graph which simultaneously ensure radial structure of each candidate topology .In this method the refined genetic algorithm is also set up and some improvements of algorithm are made on chromosome coding. In this paper an implementation of the algorithm presented by [7] is applied by modifying in load flow program and a comparison of this method with the proposed method is employed. In [7] an algorithm is proposed that the choice of the switches to be opened is based on simple heuristic rules. This algorithm reduce the number of load flow runs and also reduce the switching combinations to a fewer number and gives the optimum solution. To demonstrate the validity of these methods computer simulations with PSAT and MATLAB programs are carried out on 33-bus test system. The results show that the performance of the proposed method is better than [7] method and also other methods.

Optimization of Distribution Network Configuration for Loss Reduction Using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

Network reconfiguration in distribution system is realized by changing the status of sectionalizing switches to reduce the power loss in the system. This paper presents a new method which applies an artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) for determining the sectionalizing switch to be operated in order to solve the distribution system loss minimization problem. The ABC algorithm is a new population based metaheuristic approach inspired by intelligent foraging behavior of honeybee swarm. The advantage of ABC algorithm is that it does not require external parameters such as cross over rate and mutation rate as in case of genetic algorithm and differential evolution and it is hard to determine these parameters in prior. The other advantage is that the global search ability in the algorithm is implemented by introducing neighborhood source production mechanism which is a similar to mutation process. To demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm, computer simulations are carried out on 14, 33, and 119-bus systems and compared with different approaches available in the literature. The proposed method has outperformed the other methods in terms of the quality of solution and computational efficiency.

High Impedance Faults Detection Technique Based on Wavelet Transform

The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of protecting aerial lines from high impedance faults (HIFs) in distribution systems. This investigation successfully applies 3I0 zero sequence current to solve HIF problems. The feature extraction system based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and the feature identification technique found on statistical confidence are then applied to discriminate effectively between the HIFs and the switch operations. Based on continuous wavelet transform (CWT) pattern recognition of HIFs is proposed, also. Staged fault testing results demonstrate that the proposed wavelet based algorithm is feasible performance well.

Distribution Centers Reliability Cost in Capacitated Facility Location Problem

Recently studies in area of supply chain network (SCN) have focused on the disruption issues in distribution systems. Also this paper extends the previous literature by providing a new biobjective model for cost minimization of designing a three echelon SCN across normal and failure scenarios with considering multi capacity option for manufacturers and distribution centers. Moreover, in order to solve the problem by means of LINGO software, novel model will be reformulated through a branch of LP-Metric method called Min-Max approach.

Using Genetic Algorithm for Distributed Generation Allocation to Reduce Losses and Improve Voltage Profile

This paper presents a method for the optimal allocation of Distributed generation in distribution systems. In this paper, our aim would be optimal distributed generation allocation for voltage profile improvement and loss reduction in distribution network. Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used as the solving tool, which referring two determined aim; the problem is defined and objective function is introduced. Considering to fitness values sensitivity in genetic algorithm process, there is needed to apply load flow for decision-making. Load flow algorithm is combined appropriately with GA, till access to acceptable results of this operation. We used MATPOWER package for load flow algorithm and composed it with our Genetic Algorithm. The suggested method is programmed under MATLAB software and applied ETAP software for evaluating of results correctness. It was implemented on part of Tehran electricity distributing grid. The resulting operation of this method on some testing system is illuminated improvement of voltage profile and loss reduction indexes.

Reduction of Power Losses in Distribution Systems

Losses reduction initiatives in distribution systems have been activated due to the increasing cost of supplying electricity, the shortage in fuel with ever-increasing cost to produce more power, and the global warming concerns. These initiatives have been introduced to the utilities in shape of incentives and penalties. Recently, the electricity distribution companies in Oman have been incentivized to reduce the distribution technical and non-technical losses with an equal annual reduction rate for 6 years. In this paper, different techniques for losses reduction in Mazoon Electricity Company (MZEC) are addressed. In this company, high numbers of substation and feeders were found to be non-compliant with the Distribution System Security Standard (DSSS). Therefore, 33 projects have been suggested to bring non-complying 29 substations and 28 feeders to meet the planed criteria and to comply with the DSSS. The largest part of MZEC-s network (South Batinah region) was modeled by ETAP software package. The model has been extended to implement the proposed projects and to examine their effects on losses reduction. Simulation results have shown that the implementation of these projects leads to a significant improvement in voltage profile, and reduction in the active and the reactive power losses. Finally, the economical analysis has revealed that the implementation of the proposed projects in MZEC leads to an annual saving of about US$ 5 million.

An Effective Islanding Detection and Classification Method Using Neuro-Phase Space Technique

The purpose of planned islanding is to construct a power island during system disturbances which are commonly formed for maintenance purpose. However, in most of the cases island mode operation is not allowed. Therefore distributed generators (DGs) must sense the unplanned disconnection from the main grid. Passive technique is the most commonly used method for this purpose. However, it needs improvement in order to identify the islanding condition. In this paper an effective method for identification of islanding condition based on phase space and neural network techniques has been developed. The captured voltage waveforms at the coupling points of DGs are processed to extract the required features. For this purposed a method known as the phase space techniques is used. Based on extracted features, two neural network configuration namely radial basis function and probabilistic neural networks are trained to recognize the waveform class. According to the test result, the investigated technique can provide satisfactory identification of the islanding condition in the distribution system.

Classification System for a Collaborative Urban Retail Logistics

From an economic standpoint the current and future road traffic situation in urban areas is a cost factor. Traffic jams and congestion prolong journey times and tie up resources in trucks and personnel. Many discussions about imposing charges or tolls for cities in Europe in order to reduce traffic congestion are currently in progress. Both of these effects lead – directly or indirectly - to additional costs for the urban distribution systems in retail companies. One approach towards improving the efficiency of retail distribution systems, and thus towards avoiding negative environmental factors in urban areas, is horizontal collaboration for deliveries to retail outlets – Urban Retail Logistics. This paper presents a classification system to help reveal where cooperation between retail companies is possible and makes sense for deliveries to retail outlets in urban areas.

Clustering Mixed Data Using Non-normal Regression Tree for Process Monitoring

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, large amounts of data are collected from various sensors of multiple facilities. The collected data from sensors have several different characteristics due to variables such as types of products, former processes and recipes. In general, Statistical Quality Control (SQC) methods assume the normality of the data to detect out-of-control states of processes. Although the collected data have different characteristics, using the data as inputs of SQC will increase variations of data, require wide control limits, and decrease performance to detect outof- control. Therefore, it is necessary to separate similar data groups from mixed data for more accurate process control. In the paper, we propose a regression tree using split algorithm based on Pearson distribution to handle non-normal distribution in parametric method. The regression tree finds similar properties of data from different variables. The experiments using real semiconductor manufacturing process data show improved performance in fault detecting ability.

Minimization of Power Loss in Distribution Networks by Different Techniques

Accurate loss minimization is the critical component for efficient electrical distribution power flow .The contribution of this work presents loss minimization in power distribution system through feeder restructuring, incorporating DG and placement of capacitor. The study of this work was conducted on IEEE distribution network and India Electricity Board benchmark distribution system. The executed experimental result of Indian system is recommended to board and implement practically for regulated stable output.

Firing Angle Range Control For Minimising Harmonics in TCR Employed in SVC-s

Most electrical distribution systems are incurring large losses as the loads are wide spread, inadequate reactive power compensation facilities and their improper control. A typical static VAR compensator consists of capacitor bank in binary sequential steps operated in conjunction with a thyristor controlled reactor of the smallest step size. This SVC facilitates stepless control of reactive power closely matching with load requirements so as to maintain power factor nearer to unity. This type of SVC-s requiring a appropriately controlled TCR. This paper deals with an air cored reactor suitable for distribution transformer of 3phase, 50Hz, Dy11, 11KV/433V, 125 KVA capacity. Air cored reactors are designed, built, tested and operated in conjunction with capacitor bank in five binary sequential steps. It is established how the delta connected TCR minimizes the harmonic components and the operating range for various electrical quantities as a function of firing angle is investigated. In particular firing angle v/s line & phase currents, D.C. components, THD-s, active and reactive powers, odd and even triplen harmonics, dominant characteristic harmonics are all investigated and range of firing angle is fixed for satisfactory operation. The harmonic spectra for phase and line quantities at specified firing angles are given. In case the TCR is operated within the bound specified in this paper established through simulation studies are yielding the best possible operating condition particularly free from all dominant harmonics.