Hybrid Taguchi-Particle Swarm Optimization Based Optimal Reactive Power Flow

A hybrid Taguchi-Particle Swarm Optimization (TPSO) is proposed to solve ORPF (optimal reactive power flow) problems. This hybrid algorithm combines the well-known Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) with the established Taguchi method which has been a important tool for robust design. This paper clearly presents the improvements obtained despite the simplicity of the hybridization process. The Taguchi method is run only once in every iteration and therefore does not give significant impact in terms of computational cost. The method creates a more diversified population, which also contributes to the success of avoiding premature convergence. The algorithm approaches to solving ORPF problem are given. By applying the algorithm to dealing with IEEE 118-bus system, compared with PSO algorithm, the experimental results show that the algorithm is indeed capable of obtaining higher quality solutions efficiently in ORPF and the convergence performance is better.