Application of Equilibrium Optimizer Algorithm for Solving Linear and non Linear Coordination of Directional Overcurrent Relays

Abstract

The safety and reliability of an electrical network depend on the performance of the protections utilized. Therefore, the optimal coordination of the pro- tective devices plays an essential role. In this paper, a new algorithm, Equilibrium Optimizer (EO), which is based on the physical equation of the mass balance, is implemented in the problem of the Optimal Coor- dination of Directional Overcurrent Relays (DOCRs). Moreover, the proposed method uses Linear Program- ming (LP), Nonlinear Programming (NLP) and Mixed- Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) in order to optimize the Time Dial Setting (TDS), as well as the Plug Setting (PS), satisfying all possible constraints. Additionally, the performance of EO is evaluated using several benchmarks with different topologies. The results demonstrated the applicability and efficacy of the proposed approach. A comparison with other stud- ies reported in specialized literature is provided to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed approach.