Combination of Matrix and Genetic Algorithms for Fault Location of Active Distribution Network

Timely and effective location of faults in distribution networks is important for restoring power supply and dealing with faults. In this paper, a method combining matrix algorithm and genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to determine the fault section. Firstly, the matrix algorithm is applied to locate the fault section initially by combining the alarm information uploaded from the feeder terminal unit (FTU). Secondly, in order to deal with the problem of outputting wrong location results, the switching function of the active distribution network is constructed to check the location results calculated by the matrix, and the results that do not meet the checking will be treated as a suspicious fault set, and the relevant evaluation function is constructed and optimized using the genetic algorithm, so as to arrive at the correct fault zone location results. The results of the example simulation show that the method used in this paper can achieve fast and fault-tolerant fault location in active distribution networks.