A Qualitative Comparison of Distance-Based Protection Approaches for Active Distribution Networks

Objective: This paper presents a qualitative comparison of different recently proposed network protection schemes that are based on the distance function. From this comparison, possible opportunities are identified to develop strategies oriented towards protecting active distribution systems. Methodology: This research is carried out in two parts: the first is to identify the fundamental theoretical aspects of distance protection, its main problems, and a description of the most important aspects of the relevant strategies proposed in recent years. The second part consists of selecting aspects and elaborating a qualitative comparison of the different protection schemes analyzed. This comparison makes it possible to establish the advantages and disadvantages of each of the relevant proposals used in conventional electrical networks or active distribution networks. Results: As a result of this research, the most important aspects to consider in the protection design are identified, which therefore strongly affect its performance. These are summarized in a comparative table, which supports future research related to distance protection in active distribution networks. Conclusions: From this research, it can be stated that the solutions analyzed, despite being relevant within the scope of distance protection applied to active distribution networks, have problems to solve. None of these strategies protects the network for all types of failures in a selective, sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective way while guaranteeing minimum supply interruption to consumers. Funding: This paper is a result from projects 6-20-6 funded by Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira and contract 774-2020 (Integra2023) funded by Minciencias, Colombia.