Safety and reliability of the electrical system based on optimal FACTS allocation for a research reactor

Safety of the nuclear research reactor (NRR) operation relies on performance of the power grid supply. Reliability of this power grid is a key point in NRR operation. This paper proposes an optimization technique based on optimal location of Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices to achieve high electrical power quality of such nuclear installations. Optimal FACTS allocation problem has been solved through Genetic Algorithms (GAs). The proposed technique is applied to the IEEE 30-bus test system, the results show its effectiveness, system voltage profile improvement and reducing the power losses with a limited number of FACTS. The simulation also shows that the harmonics generated by these devices do not exceed the maximum permissible limits.