Robustness and Stability Analysis with a Heavily-Meshed Distribution Network

Power distribution systems continue to evolve to accommodate the advancements in the field of microgrids and renewable energy resources. The future grids will be highly connected and will require increased reliability of the network. To this effect, low-voltage distribution systems with meshed or networked topology can be utilized. Currently, the use of low-voltage heavily-meshed distribution systems is restricted to urban areas with high load density that require increased reliability of power. A reason for this is the high cost of construction of such systems and complex topology which creates additional challenges. The direction of power flow in such systems is not unidirectional, which makes the power flow analysis difficult. Complicated network analysis techniques are required to determine the fault currents and protection settings in the network. Due to the aforementioned reasons, there is limited work analyzing the effectiveness of existing power flow algorithms to solve complex meshed systems. In this thesis, the robustness of two power flow algorithms is compared using an index called static stability breakdown margin parameter of circuit elements. For this study, a low-voltage heavily-meshed distribution test system is also proposed. Additionally, a study is conducted to show how reliable the meshed test system is against any fault in the system. The steady-state voltage stability of the test system is observed during the event of a fault. The stability margin parameter is then used to determine the vulnerable components in the system which need to be strengthened to increase the stability and voltage profile of the system.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Electrical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Krishnan, Anaga

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Broadwater, Robert P.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Centeno, Virgilio A.
• De La Ree, Jaime

• Power Distribution System
• Meshed Distribution System
• Voltage Stability Analysis
• Stability Margin.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:21011

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/89905