Evaluating a Novel Protection Coordination Method Based on a Hybrid SSO/CS/FF Algorithm for Directional Overcurrent Relays in a Distribution Network

Minh Nhat Ly; Trang Thi Pham; Tung Thanh Pham; Duong Minh Bui; Phuc Duy Le

doi:10.48084/etasr.18333

Authors

Minh Nhat Ly Faculty of Electrical-Electronics Engineering Technology, Vinh Long University of Technology Education (VLUTE), Vinh Long Province, Vietnam
Trang Thi Pham Faculty of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (UEF), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tung Thanh Pham Faculty of Electrical-Electronics Engineering Technology, Vinh Long University of Technology Education (VLUTE), Vinh Long Province, Vietnam
Duong Minh Bui Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Vietnamese-German University (VGU), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phuc Duy Le Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH), Vietnam

Volume: 16 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 35031-35046 | June 2026 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.18333

Received: 23 February 2026 | Revised: 19 March 2026 and 30 March 2026 | Accepted: 1 April 2026 | Online: 15 April 2026

Corresponding author: Trang Thi Pham

Abstract

To reduce mal-operations of backup Overcurrent (OC) relays, loss of relay selectivity, and inaccuracy of protection coordination, setting parameters of OC relays in a Distribution Network (DN) must be adequately and effectively determined, which is a non-linear and non-convex optimization problem with multiple constraints. The purpose of this optimization problem is to find optimal relay parameters, including Time Multiplier Setting (TMS) and pickup current values for OC relays, in such a way that the total operating time of relays is minimized and, at the same time, the mal-operation of relays can be avoided, whereas relay selectivity and protection coordination can be improved. Hence, this paper proposes a hybrid protection coordination method based on Simplified Swarm Optimization (SSO), Cuckoo Search (CS), and Firefly (FF) algorithms, called the SSO-CS-FF approach, for Directional Overcurrent (DOC) relays in a DN. The obtained results demonstrate that the hybrid optimization algorithm of SSO-CS-FF can obtain a feasible and globally optimal solution with a small deviation in results and improve the minimization of relay coordination time of the DOC relays for this complex problem with multiple constraints. Moreover, the results of the proposed hybrid method are also compared with standard SSO, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), CS, and FF methods, hybrid algorithms of SSO-PSO, SSO-CS, and SSO-FF, and others to highlight its advantages. Specifically, numerical simulation results from MATLAB software of a standard IEEE 8-bus system have been used to validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed hybrid protection coordination algorithm. The total operating time of the coordination function for the IEEE 8-bus DN is 7.879 s by the proposed hybrid SSO-CS-FF approach, which is reduced by 57.2% from PSO (18.434 s), 56.7% from SSO (18.217 s), 22.7% from the SSO-PSO method (10.188 s), 19.9% from the SSO-FF algorithm (9.839 s), 6.1% from the SSO-CS algorithm (8.392 s), and 1.9% from the hybrid CS-FF algorithm (8.028 s). Furthermore, the proposed algorithm exhibits a standard deviation of approximately 0.052 s, which is notably lower than the 0.1413 s of the standard CS method and comparable to the 0.053 s of the conventional FF method. This deviation is nearly equivalent to that observed in the SSO-CS and SSO-FF methods.

Keywords:

constrained optimization, Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA), Directional Overcurrent (DOC) relays, Distribution Network (DN), Firefly Algorithm (FFA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), protection coordination, Simplified Swarm Optimization (SSO)

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