A novel stochastic fractal search algorithm for optimal allocation of distributed generators in radial distribution systems

This paper presents an application of a novel stochastic fractal search algorithm (SFSA) for solving the optimal allocation of distributed generators (OADG) problem in radial distribution systems (RDSs). The SFSA method is a newly efficient meta-heuristic algorithm inspired by the growing process of nature by using a mathematical idea known as fractal for solving optimization problems. The advantages of the SFSA method are simple implementation and few control parameters. The method is proposed to deal with the OADG problem by minimizing the active power loss, improving the voltage profile, and increasing the voltage stability while satisfying various constraints including active and reactive power balance, bus voltage limits, DG capacity limits, branch current limits, and DG penetration limit. The effectiveness of the proposed SFSA method has been verified on the IEEE 33-bus, 69-bus, and 118-bus RDSs and the obtained results have been validated via comparing to those from other methods in the literature. The result comparisons from the test systems have indicated that the proposed method can obtain higher quality solutions than many other methods for the considered scenarios from the test systems. Therefore, the proposed SFSA can be a very effective and favorable method for solving the OADG problem. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.