Design of Protection Strategy for MVDC Distribution Networks Considering Network Reconfiguration

Nam-Gi Park, Jae-In Lee, Byeong-Soo Go, Seok-Ju Lee, Changhyun Kim () and Minh-Chau Dinh ()
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Nam-Gi Park: Department of Electrical Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea
Jae-In Lee: Institute of Mechatronics, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea
Byeong-Soo Go: Institute of Mechatronics, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea
Seok-Ju Lee: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea
Changhyun Kim: Future Core Technology R&D Division, Research Institute of Medium and Small Shipbuilding, Busan 46757, Republic of Korea
Minh-Chau Dinh: Institute of Mechatronics, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: The increasing attention to medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) distribution networks is motivated by the need to efficiently connect renewable energy sources and DC loads. However, fast and reliable protection strategies remain a key challenge due to the rapid rise and high magnitude of DC fault currents. This paper proposes a protection strategy for MVDC distribution networks considering network reconfiguration. The strategy integrates a fault-detection scheme based on the product of the rate of change in current and voltage (ROCOC × ROCOV) and a fault-identification scheme based on the ratio of the magnitudes of the positive and negative pole voltages. In a radial topology, the sign of ROCOC × ROCOV provides selectivity between internal and external faults. In multi-terminal topologies under network reconfiguration, external faults can present characteristics similar to those of internal faults. To ensure selectivity, communication is introduced between protective relays that share the same protection zone. Thresholds were set without large-scale simulations. The protection strategy was implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC and evaluated in a 37.4 kV MVDC distribution network. The strategy was validated under various fault conditions in radial and multi-terminal MVDC distribution networks, demonstrating fast, sensitive, and selective performance. The proposed strategy can contribute to the stable operation of MVDC distribution networks.

Keywords: fault detection; fault identification; MVDC distribution network; network reconfiguration; protection; threshold setting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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