Self-Reconfigurable Electric Power Distribution System using Multi-Agent Systems

Electric power distribution systems (EPDS) can be found almost everywhere, from ship power systems to data centers. In many critical applications, there is needed to maintain minimal operating capability under fault conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop energy distribution control techniques, which allow the implementation of a self-reconfigurable EPDS. This research project focuses on the application of multi agent systems (MAS) to develop a self-reconfigurable EPDS. MAS are composed of multiple interacting software elements, known as agents. An agent is an abstraction that describes autonomous software that "acts on behalf of a user or another program. A prototype of a MAS is proposed to reconfigure an electric system in order to maximize the number of served loads with highest priority. We used a shipboard simulation test system based on a zonal architecture. The test system is simulated using Matlabtrade Simulinktrade -SimPowerSystems toolbox, and the MAS was implemented using Javatrade programming language and JADE platform.