New Solutions for Optimization of the Electrical Distribution System Availability in

Microgrids: Application to Petroleum Platform in Tunisia

Mohamed Ghaieth Abidi , Moncef Ben Smida , and Mohamed Khalgui

LISILab, INSAT Institute, University of Carthage, Tunisia.
Email: Mohamed.ghaieth@gmail.com
INSAT Institute, University of Carthage, Tunisia
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Jinan University (Zhuhai Campus), Zhuhai 519070, China.
SystemsControl Lab, School of Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Xidian University, Xian 710071, China.

AbstractThis paper deals with the availability in microgrids
that are composed of a set of sources (Photovoltaic generators,
wind turbines, diesel generators and batteries) and a set of
loads (critical and uncritical loads). The energy produced by
various sources will be grouped in an alternative bus (AC
bus), and it will be distributed on loads through an electrical
distribution system. The occurrence of a fault in the system
can cause a total or partial unavailability of energy required
by the loads. The objective of this paper is to characterize
the fault caused by the limited reliability of the components of
the electrical distribution system and to propose an new design
methodology to optimize the availability of this system (as well
as the availability of power supply) by taking into account
all the economic constraints. The proposed methodology is
based on the redundancy of electrical distribution paths. An
application of this optimization to a petroleum platform shows
clearly a high degree of supply availability distribution in
microgrid.
Index TermsMicrogrid; Electrical distribution system; Reli-
ability; Reconfiguration; Fault tolerance; High power supply
availability.
1. Introduction
For various reasons, conventional power systems are
confronted with economical and technical problems in terms
of quality of electrical power distribution services. These
problems have led to a new trend, relying on local pro-
duction of energy by using non-conventional sources of
energy (distributed sources) [1]. Microgrid system is a new
concept that aims to integrate decentralized energy sources
efficiently and reliably [3]. A microgrid is composed of
sources (Photovoltaic cells, Wind turbine, Battery, Diesel
generator. . . ) and loads. The energy produced by diverse
sources will be grouped in a bus (AC or DC bus), and
it will be distributed on loads thanks to an electrical dis-
tribution system. This system consists of switchgears con-
nected between them by electric lines. The components of
a distribution system can have breakdowns. These failures
(breakdowns) can result a total or partial unavailability of
energy required by the loads. For many sector applications,
the power supply availability are regarded as paramount
factors. Power unavailability can cause material and human
losses. One of the major advantages of microgrid concept
is that the transmission costs are reduced and long dis-
tance energy transfers are no more necessary. This scale
reduction of the grid gave us more flexibility in terms of
design (configuration and reconfiguration) of power sys-
tems, essentially concerning the distribution system level.
In order to improve the quality of service and to have a
high availability of energy, it is necessary to design the
power system that has an optimal architecture and size.
The chosen architecture must ensure the transfer of the
energy produced to the loads (especially the critical loads).
Until now, the conception of a microgrid presents several
hard problems [4]. In order to optimize the architecture,
the microgrid will be modeled by a directed graph. Each
node represents a switchgear and each connection will be
presented as an edge. This representation should take into
account the reliability of components as well as connections
and minimize the effect of probable faults. The reduced size
gives more flexibility at the level of the interconnections
between the various components. The strategy of optimiza-
tion has to use a probability analysis based on the rates of
failure to calculate the rate of availability of the energy in
nodes. After identifying the nodes with low availability, the
strategy of optimization has to improve the availability by
modifying the interconnections between the various nodes
of the distribution system. The proposed solution is based on
the multiplication of the paths of electrical power flow [13].
By adding new connections, new paths will be in passive
redundancy with the existing paths. These new connections
will be used in case of a defect within the initial connections
in order to answer availability requirements of the electrical
energy. These new connections will be an algorithm that
promotes the low-cost connections with the nodes that have
a high availability. Such a solution should take into account
the modifications cost. In case of several possible solutions,
the least expensive solution is chosen. This optimization
strategy will be applied to a Tunisian petroleum platform
to confirm its efficiency. This paper is organized as follows:
Section 1 presents the state of the art of microgrid design
optimization. The second Section explains the formalization fied. We aim in this paper to propose a design assistance
of the distribution system. Section 3 proposes the Decision approach. This approach can help to improve an existing
aid design solution for optimal availability. In Section 4, we electric distribution network efficiently and economically.
present the case study and evaluate the proposed solution. It takes into account the existing distribution network and
Finally, Section 5 summarizes this paper. proposes the least expensive modifications that can improve
the reliability of the system and meet your needs. The use
2. State Of The Art of the theory of the graphs with a probability aspect of the
faults to optimize an existing installation with taking into
Since its appearance, electric power has become increas- account cost presents the objective of this work.
ingly indispensable in many areas of human activity. The
continuity of this service becomes increasingly an essen- 3. Formalisation Of Distribution System
tial magnitude for several applications [5]. For this type
of applications, even short interruptions of power supply
The electrical distribution system (Figure 1) mainly
can cause significant economic losses or be dangerous for
composed of m switchgears (Sw) and Sl level of
human lives. The traditional networks are characterized by a
the switchgears connected between them via electrical
production centralization that is essentially based on fossil
connection lines (L) which are generally in tree topology.
resources. These networks are also characterized by long
In each level (i)(i (1, .., Sl)), we have sgi electrical
distances between sources and consumers. In the case of
switchgears. A switchgear is composed of incoming circuit
local breakdowns, the traditional networks are difficult to
breakers CBi and outgoing circuit breakers CBo .
re-configure. These problems led drove to a new tendency
to produce energy demand locally. Microgrids, due to the
use of different types of distributed generation sources and
theirs small sizes (compared with conventional systems),
are an appropriate solution to ensure a high availability.
Conceptually, a microgrid is composed mainly of three ma-
jor parts: sources, loads, and the connection between them
(architecture and control strategy). Several researches are
interested in these various components, the characteristics
of each of them and the optimal combination that can
ensure a high availability [6] [7]. In order to increase the
availability of the electrical energy, some research works
are interested in the adequate choice of sources, their types,
their dimensions [11] and their localization in the network
[12]. Other research works find that the decrease of the
consumption is more profitable economically in certain
cases of energy insufficiency. In this case, the availability
of power supply can be improved by using load-shedding Figure 1: Electrical distribution system.
method based on promoting of high priority loads [2]. The
load shedding strategy can be based on the real-time infor- Swij is the j th switchgear in the ith level. The electrical
mation or on the forecasting and probabilistic information connection between Swij (starting switchgear) and Swkl
j
[8]. The network architecture must be flexible to give the (end switchgear)is named Likl . The electrical distribution
possibility of eliminating non-priority loads in the case of system (EDS) is modelled in the current paper by a direct
energy insufficiency. The energy insufficiency is not the only graph (Figure 2). In this graph each switchgear Swij is
problem that can cause a partial or total dysfunction in a j
considered as a node Nij . Each electrical connection Likl is
microgrid. The interface of power between the producers j
considered as an edge Eki l where Swij is the starting node
of the energy and its consumers presents a big field of
research. We find works that are interested in the influence and Swkl is the end node. In fact, (EDS) can be represented
of the architecture of the system, the nature and the multi- as:
plication of buses and the converter topology design impact
on the availability [9] [10]. By studying the characteristics
of microgrids, we can notice that the distribution network Sys = {V, E} (1)
(the electrical connections between the final bus and the
Where V is a set of nodes and E is a set of edges.
loads) plays a very important role to meet the needs of
Each node (switchgear) Nij is characterized by: (i) the
consumers. The distribution network should be very reliable.
The flexibility and the reconfigurability of its connections availability rate A(Nij ), (ii): the nominal power P (Nij ),
give to the system the ability to maintain its functionality, (iii) the cost C(Nij ).
j
even in the presence of faults (Fault Tolerant). Each edge (electrical connection line) Likl is characterized
j
It is in this context that the proposed work can be classi- by: (i) the length of the connection L(Likl ), (ii) the failure
 j j
rate (Likl ) (iii) the cost C(Likl ), (iv) the nominal power
j
of connection P (Likl ).
Figure 2: A simple directed graph of the distribution
system.
The availability rate is the probability that an item will
operate satisfactorily at a given point in time.
Each node receives electric power on behalf of its
predecessor and injects this power towards its successors.
In a normal distribution system, each node has only one
predecessor. A node includes two levels of circuit breakers:
(i) a circuit breaker to control the power input in the node,
(ii) the other circuit breakers control the power injected by
this node to its successors.
The graph is composed of m nodes and m 1 edges. It
is based on two (m m) matrix;
Connectivity matrix ML: M L(ij k l ) equal to 1 if
there is a connection between nodes Nij and Nkl or
0 if not;
Distance matrix MD: M D(ij k l ) is the distance
between nodes Nij and Nkl ;
The electrical energy is supposed totally available
(100%) in the first level node N11 . The availability of the
energy in a node depends on the availability in its prede-
cessors and the reliability of the connections.
The cost C(Nij ) of node Nij depends on the nominal power
of circuit breakers P (Nij ) and the power unit cost as
follows:
C(Nij ) = P (Nij ) (2)
The nominal power P (Nij ) is the rate power that can cross
a node. If we want to increase this power, we have to resize
the node. j we have to increase the number of the predecessors (Figure
Approximately, the failure rate ((Likl )) of the connection
between nodes Nij and Nkl is proportional to its length
j
L(Likl ). It is given by the following equation (2):
j j
(Likl ) = L(Likl ) (3)
With is the failure rate of connection line per unit of
length.
j
The cost of the connection C(Likl ) is proportional to its
j j
length L(Likl ) and its nominal power P (Likl ).
j j j A(Nkl ) = 1
C(Lki l ) = P (Likl ) L(Likl ) (4)
With is the cost of connection per unit of length and
power. If Nij is the only predecessor node of the Nkl node,
So the availability of power supply is given by equation (7):
j
A(Nkl ) = A(Nij ) (1 (Likl )) (5)
In case of adding of a new connections, we have to
assure that each predecessor node is able to power supply
all its successors; we have also to ensure the existing of an
electrical connection that can transfer the power asked by
successor nodes.
In all cases, the nominal power P (Nij ) of each node (Nij )
shall be at least equal to the sum of the power requested by
their successors.
X
P (Nij ) P (successors of (Nij )) (6)
4. Contribution
We aim in the present document to propose a new
approach that optimizes the architecture of a microgrid by
minimizing as much as possible the risks of faults that can
occur at run-time and cause a downtime of the energy at the
loads.
4.1. Motivation
The distribution system network must be more flexible
and fault-tolerant to allow a required high availability of
the energy for loads ( 99.99% for critical loads). This
approach is based on the multiplication of the paths of
power flow and the passive redundancy of nodes connection.
In case of defect, the system has to have the possibility
to supply loads by modifying the path of power flow. To
reach this goal, certain inexistent interconnections between
nodes (switchgears) will be added, some connections will
be replaced by others in order to respect the new requested
nominal power, and some nodes should be resized for the
same reason.
4.2. Formalisation of the Proposed Solution
The strategy of optimization is based on the idea
of multiplication of power flow paths and the passive
redundancy. In order to increase the availability in a node,
3). In this case, if a connection is disrupted, the node
will be fed by another connection in order to assure the
continuity of service, one node can receive its energy
needs from several predecessors. The availability will be
increased at the level of the receiver node and also at the
level of their predecessors.
In this case, the availability will be equal:
n
Y
((1 A(P rNi ))) (LkPlrNi )) (7)
i=1
 4.3. Algorithm
The algorithm of optimization uses the linear
programming to find the optimal solution. This solution has
to guarantee the availability asked at the level of nodes by
adding new connections. It changes the connectivity matrix
by replacing 0 by 1. The algorithm, while calculating the
cost of its modifications. We have two main factors: the
availability rate of nodes that has to reach the requested
rate and the cost of the implementation of this solution that
must be minimal.

Figure 3: Multiplication of predecessors of a node Algorithm 1: O PTIMIZATION finds the new connec-
tions to add
With (P rN1 , ..P rNn ) are the predecessor nodes of Nkl , Input: MD and ML
Output: Updated ML
(LPkl
rNi
) is the electrical connection between Nkl and
1 for each node do
P rNi .
2 collect node information (nominal power)
By adding connections, we have to assure that each
predecessor node is capable to supply all its successors; 3 for each connection do
we have also to ensure that electrical connection can insure 4 collect connection information (nominal power)
the power asked by successor nodes (equation 6). 5 Divide the system into branches connecting the
starting point with final nodes
Otherwise, we have to resize or replace some compo- 6 for each node do
nents (add and replace some switchgears as well as circuit 7 calculate the availability rate in final nodes
breakers) in order to respect the requested nominal power of 8 while availability rate < required value do
these components. These changes (addition of the new con- 9 Add a new connection with the closest
nections, the resizing of circuit breakers, and replacement branch;
of the existing connections) are relatively expensive. For
every new connection, we have the cost of the new electric 10 return M L
line, the cost of outgoing circuit breakers to add in the
predecessor node and the cost of replacement of incoming
circuit breaker of the successor node. By increasing the 5. Case study
power in certain nodes, we have to replace electric lines
in order to increase the nominal power of the connections. The Microgrid adopted for this case study is an islanded
The cost of optimization is the cost of all the modifications petroleum platform. It is located in the Tunisian Coast. This
at the level of nodes and the connections. platform is supplied by: (i) photovoltaic generators, (ii) wind
turbines, (iii) batteries and (iv) diesel generators. We have

C=
P P
Cnew connections + Cnew circuit breackers two classes of loads: (i) critical loads and uncritical loads



(Figure 4).

Cnew connections = Cadded connections



+Creplaced connection



P
C = Cnew incomming breakers
new circuit breackers

P
+ Cnew outcomming breakers
(8)
The system is fully optimized if the availability rate in
all nodes (m nodes) achieves the requested rate.
X Availability rate
(b c) = m (9)
Requested rate
nodes

with bxc is f loor(x), it is the largest integer less than or Figure 4: Microgrid.
equal to x. The gain can be defined as the percentage of
nodes that reach the requested rate. 5.1. Presentation
P Availability rate
nodes (b Requested rate c) After its conversion and according to the integration
Gain(%) = 100 (10)
m strategy, the energy produced by sources regroups together
in an AC bus by means of the various converters. This TABLE 3: The power availability of nodes.
energy will be used to feed eight main loads. Node Availability rate (%)
N11 100
In this distribution method, each node is fed from an N21 99.6
only upper level node. A defect in the input power con- N22 99.5
N31 99.3
nection of a node causes an unavailability of the energy in
N32 99.2
this node and its successors. The failure rate coefficient of N33 99.15
a connection is equal to 104 per meter. The availability N34 98.95
rate decreases in a linear way with regard to the connection
length. Figure (5) represents the graph that corresponds to
our case study.
To assure a high availability, we have to guarantee that
the availability rate is not less than 99.99 % for the critical
loads (less than an hour by years of failure). For uncritical
loads, this rate can be limited to 99%. In order to achieve
this objective, the distribution network must be more reliable
and more defects tolerant.

5.2. Application

Figure 5: Directed graph of the proposed microgrid In this case, we have two groups of loads connected to
distribution network. four nodes.

In this case, we have four groups of loads connected

to four nodes. We have two critical groups of loads
connected to N31 and N32 and two uncritical groups
connected to N33 and N34 . Because of the limited reliability
of connections, the availability of the energy in load
nodes (N33 to N34 ) does not reach suitable thresholds,
although the energy is available in the microgrid. In this
case study: = 103 m1 , =1, KN =2. The distances
(in m) between nodes are represented in the following table.
Figure 6: Directed graph of our case study.
TABLE 1: The distance (in m) between nodes.
Node N11 N21 N22 N31 N32 N33 N34
N11 0 40 50 65 70 75 100 We notice that the final nodes (N31 , N32 and N34 ) do not
N21 40 0 45 30 40 70 90 reach the wanted rate of availability. We have to improve
N22 50 45 0 70 65 35 55 this rate economically. The decision system suggests adding
N31 65 30 70 0 30 100 115 a new connection between the nodes N31 and N32 . This
N32 70 40 65 30 0 90 110 connection allows to increase the availability at the level
N33 75 70 35 100 90 0 45
N34 100 90 55 115 100 45 0
of the critical loads. The nodes of the second level are
unable to ensure a high supply availability to its successors.
The nominal powers (in KW) for each node are repre- We have to add connections to improve the availability
sented in the table below: at this level. The decision system proposes adding new
connections between nodes N21 and N22 . These two new
TABLE 2: The nominal powers of nodes. connections are short; they are reliable and less expensive.
Node Power With these two connections, we can reach the required level
N11 20 of availability. In this case, the nominal power of some
N21 11 nodes deceases. In order to implement this optimization,
N22 9 we have to resize N21 , N22 , N31 and N32 . The connections
N31 6 must be replaced.
N32 5
N33 3
N34 6 Table 4 shows the new power availability rate for each
node after optimization:
The power availability for each node is presented in the For this study case, all nodes achieve the requested rate
following table: of availability, Gain(%)=100%.
 [4] I. Sansa, R. Villafafila, and N. M. Bellaaj, Optimal sizing design of an
isolated microgrid using loss of power supply probability, IREC2015
The Sixth International Renewable Energy Congress, 2015.
[5] R. R. Bhoyar and S. S. Bharatkar, Renewable energy integration in to
microgrid: Powering rural Maharashtra State of India, 2013 Annual
IEEE India Conference (INDICON), 2013.
[6] S. M. Hakimi and S. M. Moghaddas-Tafreshi, Optimal Planning of a
Smart Microgrid Including Demand Response and Intermittent Renew-
able Energy Resources, IEEE Trans. Smart Grid IEEE Transactions
on Smart Grid, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 28892900, 2014.
[7] M. B. Shadmand and R. S. Balog, Multi-Objective Optimization and
Design of Photovoltaic-Wind Hybrid System for Community Smart
DC Microgrid, IEEE Trans. Smart Grid IEEE Transactions on Smart
Figure 7: Directed graph of our case study. Grid, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 26352643, 2014.
TABLE 4: The power availability of nodes of the proposed [8] D. Michaelson, H. Mahmood, and J. Jiang, A predictive energy
solution. management strategy with pre-emptive load shedding for an islanded
PV-battery microgrid, IECON 2013 - 39th Annual Conference of the
Node Availability rate (%) IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 2013.
N11 100 [9] J. Song, M. C. Bozchalui, A. Kwasinski, and R. Sharma, Microgrids
N21 99.6 availability evaluation using a Markov chain energy storage model: a
N22 99.5 comparison study in system architectures, Pes T&d 2012, 2012.
N31 99.3
[10] A. Kwasinski, Quantitative Evaluation of DC Microgrids Availabil-
N32 99.2
ity: Effects of System Architecture and Converter Topology Design
N33 99.15 Choices, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 26, no. 3, pp.
N34 98.95 835851, 2011.
[11] O. M. Longe, K. Ouahada, H. C. Ferreira, and S. Chinnappen,
Renewable Energy Sources microgrid design for rural area in South
6. Conclusion Africa, Isgt 2014, 2014.

The system of distribution plays a very important role [12] S. Gludpetch and T. Tayjasanant, Optimal placement of protective
devices for improving reliability indices in Microgrid system, 2013
to insure a high availability in the small-scale networks like IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference
microgrids. In this type of networks, loads are very close. (APPEEC), 2013.
The design can be more flexible. Every defect in this system [13] I. H.-R. Jiang, G.-J. Nam, H.-Y. Chang, S. R. Nassif, and J. Hayes,
causes a lot of loss at the level of loads. In order to achieve a Smart grid load balancing techniques via simultaneous switch/tie-
high availability of power supply and improve the quality of line/wire configurations, 2014 IEEE/ACM International Conference
service, this paper proposes a new optimization strategy that on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD), 2014.
can help us to improve the system of distribution reliability.
This optimization is based on the idea of multiplication of
power flow paths and the passive redundancy. This new
solution presents several economical and technical benefits.
It can propose the optimal configuration by taking into
account the cost of optimization and the needs for loads.
This optimization can be used to improve the availability of
sources. In case of insufficiency of availability, this approach
has to propose modifications at the level of sources in order
to guarantee the requested rate of availability. By increasing
the numbers of loads, solutions become more diversified
and more effective. However, the problem of optimization
becomes more complex. Only one change can influence
multiple nodes.

References
[1] N. Hatziargyriou, Microgrids: architectures and control. Chichester,
West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley/IEEE press, 2014.
[2] H. Zhang, C. S. Lai, and L. L. Lai, A novel load shedding strat-
egy for distribution systems with distributed generations, IEEE PES
Innovative Smart Grid Technologies, Europe, 2014.
[3] A. G. Anastasiadis, A. G. Tsikalakis, and N. D. Hatziargyriou, Oper-
ational and environmental benefits due to significant penetration of
Microgrids and topology sensitivity, IEEE PES General Meeting,
2010.