SmartAPO

With the research project SmartAPO, the Department of Energy Systems and Energy Management at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK) bundles the research activities carried out in recent years in the field of distribution grids. The overall objective is to boost the integration of distributed generation and "new loads" into low-voltage grids by using automation technology in grid operation. Within the project, the development of a local network controller is planned, which reliably detects limit violations in operation and autonomously (i.e. without intervention by the network operator) controls actuators for voltage- and load flow control, so that a reliable (in terms of quality) and safe (in terms of protection of equipment and persons) network operation is guaranteed. The special feature of the project is the consideration of a poor data basis, i.e. a negative measurement redundancy and a communication infrastructure with low bandwith. The main scientific objective of the TUK is the development of a control concept that enables permissible network operation even with reduced measuring range and relatively high measuring cycles. For this reason, a predictive control approach is pursued.

Another focus is the design of a robust, autonomous system. Individual invalid measured values have to be detected (see functions from SmartSCADA) and replaced by pseudo values. A plausibility function should evaluate the accuracy of the state estimation. If the plausibility check is negative, e.g. due to too many inaccurate pseudo values, a "fail-safe" function must be activated. The pseudo value generation, the plausibility function and the "fail-safe" function must be developed and investigated. An approach using artificial neural networks is pursued.