Waveform Difference Feature-Based Protection Scheme for Islanded Microgrids

Unlike conventional synchronous generators, the fault characteristics of inverter-based distributed generators (IBDGs) are mainly determined by the inverter control strategies. Their limited fault current contributions make the protection design of islanded microgrids (MGs) become a major challenge. This article focuses on the fault characteristics and protection scheme design of islanded MGs. First, the phase differences between the positive-sequence current fault components (PSC-FCs) at both terminals of fault line are analyzed under different network topologies and fault severities. It points out the phase characteristic differences between internal and external faults. Then, on basis of this to overcome the problems of the phase measurement error and protection setting, a waveform difference feature-based protection scheme is proposed. The protection criteria are formulated using the first peak sign and time information of PSC-FCs between both terminals of line, which are extracted by the mathematical morphology (MM) technology. Only relatively low bandwidth communication is required to achieve accurate fault identification. Finally, the simulation results on a 10-kV islanded MG model demonstrate that the proposed scheme can identify internal faults reliably in both looped and radial islanded MGs under different fault resistances and measurement noises.