Coordination of Overcurrent, Directional and Differential Relays for the Protection of Microgrid System

Microgrid implementation draws new challenges especially in the coordination of protective devices that are not likely to appear in a traditional distribution network. Variation of fault current levels, bi-directional fault current and changing of microgrid operation modes make protection of the microgrids more difficult. In this work, a systematic procedure for coordination of different protection schemes is presented to secure the operation of a microgrid system. The procedure initially starts with coordination of overcurrent (OC) relays and followed by directional overcurrent (DOC) relays in the system. If the coordination of these two types of relays is unsatisfactory, then differential (DIF) relays are used to replace the OC relay in the faulty section. The proposed method takes into account device selectivity, sensitivity and proper protection function simultaneously. Simulation results show that the proposed coordination method safely protect a microgrid system during both grid-connected and islanded operation modes.