A new improved adaptive imperialist competitive algorithm to solve the reconfiguration problem of distribution systems for loss reduction and voltage profile improvement

In this paper, a reconfiguration methodology based on a novel improved adaptive imperialist competitive algorithm (IAICA) is proposed for the sake of minimizing real power losses and enhancing the voltage profile. Unlike ICA, an inherently continuous algorithm reconfiguration is a discrete nonlinear optimization problem. Therefore, the mapping strategy is used to adapt ICA to the reconfiguration problem. Furthermore, a heuristic prohibited zone method is proposed to enhance the exploration capability and converging behavior of ICA. This heuristic method is considered to check the radiality constraint. In addition to IAICA, two other algorithms - GA and ACO - are implemented for reconfiguration of 33 and 69-bus test systems with and without DG. The efficiency of IAICA is validated by comparing the obtained results with each other.