CAREER: Smart Protection for DC Power Systems: Distributed and Proactive Approach

University Of Colorado At Denver, Aurora CO

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this CAREER project is to provide intelligent solutions for the protection of DC power systems, which is one of the major barriers that prevent the wide usage of DC power systems. DC power systems have received renewed attention due to a number of advantages they offer such as easy renewable energy resource integration, high-efficiency long distance transmission, and simpler interface with power electronics converters. Applications including microgrids with distributed generators, bulk power transmission, and low-voltage distribution systems have been investigated. Compared to the control aspects of DC systems that have made sizable progress, system protection has always been a challenge. The research in this project will address protection issues for DC power systems, which will contribute to strengthen this important aspect of DC power systems and can have impact in various applications. The outcomes of this research will be disseminated through presentations and publications and can be readily utilized in conjunction with other aspects of distributed and/or sustainable energy applications using DC power to generate synergistic effects on overall system reliability improvement. Furthermore, this CAREER project will academically and financially support graduate students and nurture them to prepare them as part of the next generation of multidisciplinary researchers and engineers. The project will also provide ample research opportunities to undergraduate students. While the advantages of DC power systems are great, the protection aspects of these systems have posed many challenges such as effectively breaking a DC arc, autonomously locating a fault within a microgrid, DC protective equipment, and certainly the lack of standards, guidelines and experience. Although protection technology for AC systems has a long history and maturity, it is difficult to directly apply these to DC systems because of the non-alternating nature and fast dynamics of DC power. Hence, the protection of DC power systems needs to take a fundamentally different approach than that of existing AC technologies. Furthermore, complex modern power systems need more intelligence for their operation. In this CAREER project, a distributed and proactive approach will be taken as the project aims to provide a protection framework with swift fault current interruption, accurate fault location, and distributed decision-making based on various system parameters. The protection framework development will contain integrated components for fast responses and compound decisions based on multi-dimensional intelligence. The successful execution of this CAREER project will contribute to the implementation of modern power systems that take advantage of DC power. The activities will result in multidisciplinary research as well as educational impacts, and will provide interesting and useful applications of advanced artificial intelligence, control and communication technologies to the power and energy system area.