Precision time synchronization control method for smart grid based on wolf colony algorithm

• A slave clock model considering both phase offset and frequency drift is given.
• PID controller is applied to continuously adjust the frequency of the slave clock.
• The controller parameters are optimized using wolf colony algorithm.
• WCA-optimized PID control algorithm is proposed and compared.
• Simulation results show good performance in time synchronization for smart grid.

In order to satisfy the high accuracy and high security requirements of time synchronization in smart grid, this paper has conducted a research on high-precision time synchronization control algorithm based on IEEE 1588 protocol. A slave clock model is built considering both phase offset and frequency drift. A novel approach using proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller in cooperation with the wolf colony algorithm (WCA) is proposed to eliminate the offset of the slave clock with respect to the master clock. As a new swarm-intelligence algorithm, WCA is introduced for self-tuning the optimal parameters of the PID controller, which simulates the intelligent predatory behaviors and prey distribution rule of the wolf colony. The WCA-based PID control approach is compared with the method based on standard Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Back-Propagation (BP) neural network. The experimental results show that the proposed WCA-based PID control approach in time synchronization for smart grid has higher precision, can adaptively adjust compensation and keep the master–slave clock synchronization effectively.