Incremental transient power-based protection scheme for a DC microgrid

A key step in the realisation of DC microgrids is the development of robust protection schemes. Bidirectional power flow in ring-type configurations makes protection design too complicated. This paper presents an algorithm for selective fault location and isolation of faulty parts in the transient stage itself. At the onset of a fault, the proposed scheme computes incremental transient power (Delta P) from initial changes in voltage and current. The sign of Delta P captured by different IEDs is compared to determine the fault location. Though the scheme is designed for the unit protection of feeders, it is also capable of locating and isolating external faults accurately. A backup scheme using local measurements is provided, in case of communication failure. The schemes are simulated using extensive simulations in MATLAB/SIMULINK platform. The results confirm that the proposed protection design operates within a few milliseconds and is highly selective and stable.