Slime mould algorithm constrained by the relay operating time for optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays using multiple standardized tripping curves

In this paper, a new stochastic optimizer called slime mould algorithm (SMA) for solving the optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays in meshed power networks is proposed. The proposed SMA-based method deals with the coordination problem using the most recent digital relays by selecting the optimal tripping standardized curve plus time dial and current pickup. Afterwards, the problem gets more sophisticated by bounding the relay tripping time inside a practical range to simulate the real network conditions. SMA’s performance is evaluated on two different test cases including highly penetrated distributed generators in the second one. The results of SMA are compared with other recent metaheuristic and conventional approaches reported in the literature under same conditions aimed at fair comparisons. It is declared that the SMA attains 29.9% reduction in the relays total operating time for the first test case compared to the well-matured water cycle algorithm. Even, if the tested network is a highly penetrated by distributed generators, more reduction is achieved by 33.7% with better convergence characteristics. It can be established that the SMA-based method demonstrates a competitive and reliable tool for minimizing the relays total operating time satisfying all the constraints even for the sophisticated scenarios.