Support Vector Machines for Providing Selectivity of Distance Protection Backup Zone

Abstract

The development of present-day power systems is associated with the wide use of digital technologies and intelligent algorithms in control and protection systems. It opens up new opportunities to improve relay protection and automation hardware and develop its design principles. Simulation modeling becomes a new tool not only for studying power systems operation but also for designing new relay protection methods.

The use of simulation modeling in combination with machine learning algorithms makes it possible to create fundamentally new types of digital relay protections adaptable to a specific protected facility and able to use all the available current and voltage measurements to the fullest extent possible. Machine learning also allows developing auxiliary selective elements for improving the basic characteristics of existing relay protection algorithms such as selectivity, sensitivity, and speed of operation. The paper considers an example of designing an auxiliary element to provide selectivity in the backup zone of distance protection. The problem is solved using one of the most widely known machine learning techniques, i.e., the method of support vector machines (SVM).