IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO.

11, NOVEMBER 2014

5813

Line Loss Minimization in Isolated Substations and

Multiple Loop Distribution Systems Using the UPFC
Mahmoud A. Sayed, Member, IEEE, and Takaharu Takeshita, Member, IEEE

AbstractThis paper presents the line loss minimum condition

in isolated substations and same substation multiple loop distribution systems by using the unified power flow controller (UPFC).
In each case, the mathematical model is presented and the line
loss minimum conditions are obtained based on the line parameters of the distribution feeders. Since multiple loop distribution
system is fed from same substation, the line loss minimization can
be achieved by compensating the summation of the line reactance
voltage drop. In an isolated substation loop distribution system,
the line loss minimization can be achieved by compensating the
summation of the line reactance voltage drop in addition to the
voltage difference of the substations. Realization of both cases can
be achieved if the loop current is eliminated from the loop system.
The series compensation technique applied by the UPFC is used to
eliminate the loop current from the loop distribution system and
hence minimize the total line loss. The effectiveness of the proposed
control schemes of the UPFC have been verified experimentally.
Index TermsFACTS, line loss minimization, loop distribution
system, series compensation, unified power flow controller (UPFC),
voltage regulation.

I. INTRODUCTION
REENHOUSE gas emissions are considered one of the
most important problems that affect our environment and
causes climate change. Electrical Energy supplies are considered as one of the main contributors in global warming since they
emit carbon dioxide (CO2 ), which is the most abundant greenhouse gas. Therefore, concerns over global warming problems
have led to change the operation and design standards for distribution networks. The most important of these is the energy
saving. Line loss minimization in distribution systems is the
most efficient solution in order to achieve energy saving. In addition, line loss minimization enhances the voltage profile along
the distribution feeders [1], [2].
Distribution networks are mainly classified as either radial
or loop. The radial system is commonly used because it has
simple and inexpensive protection schemes. Also, its voltage
profile can be controlled easily. However, radial systems are often quite weak because of the long distances involved and the
high resistance-to-inductance ratio of the lines that are used,

Manuscript received July 13, 2013; revised October 23, 2013 and December
3, 2013; accepted January 8, 2014. Date of publication January 29, 2014; date
of current version July 8, 2014. Recommended for publication by Associate
Editor P. Barbosa.
M. A. Sayed is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, South Valley University, 83523 Qena, Egypt (e-mail:
mahmoud_sayed@ieee.org).
T. Takeshita is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, 466-8555 Nagoya, Japan (e-mail:
take@nitech.ac.jp).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2014.2301833

Fig. 1.

Configuration of the distribution system.

and the continuous increasing of the power demand. Hence, as

the demand power increases on these networks, power quality
issues such as high power loss often become a significant problem. Ideally, the power loss in electrical systems should not be
more than 6%. However, in developed countries, the power loss
is more than 10%, whereas in developing countries, it is more
than 20% [3]. Therefore, distribution system engineers have
proposed a loop system to achieve the merits of line loss reduction and to enhance the load voltage profile along the feeders.
Although, the loop distribution system requires complex protection schemes [4], [5], it is also more reliable service that is
offered for critical loads such as hospitals. As a result, much
of recent research works have considered reconfiguring the radial distribution system to loop one in order to achieve these
objectives [6][9].
Reconfiguration of radial distribution systems to the closedloop lines, using the existing infrastructure, is done in the
medium voltage by connecting the ends of adjacent radial feeders. Based on the feeder substation, two different types of the
loop system may result. These types are the isolated substations
loop system and multiple loop system [8], [10], as shown in
Fig. 1. The isolated substations loop system results from reconfiguring two radial feeders fed from different substations
to perform one loop, whereas the multiple loop system results
from reconfiguring more than two radial feeders fed from same
substation to perform at least two adjacent loops. In the isolated
substations loop system, a loop current may results from the
voltage difference between substation voltages in addition to
the asymmetrical line parameters of the feeders. In a multiple
loop system, a loop current may results from the asymmetrical
line parameters of the feeders, only, since its feeders are fed
from the same substation.

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5814

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2014

Recent research in distribution networks has been focused

on the minimizing power loss and enhance the load voltage
profile along the feeders by using power electronics technologies [11][18]. The idea given in [11][15] has been achieved
using STATCOM, SSSC, and active filters-based shunt and series power converters to compensate the reactive power in distribution systems, and hence, control the power flow. In [16]
and [17], power balancing between feeders using a back-toback converter has been proposed to reduce the loop power loss
and improve the load voltage profile. In [18], a loop power controller has been used to reconfigure two radial systems to loop
in order to reduce the power loss and mitigate power flow overloading. In [19][21], the authors have proposed the line loss
minimum conditions in loop distribution systems, and experimentally achieved these conditions by using the unified power
flow controller (UPFC). In [20], the authors proposed load voltage regulation to be equal in the magnitude to the source voltage under line loss minimum condition. However, the proposed
technique cannot guarantee the other load voltages to be within
the permissible voltage range. In [21], the authors proposed a
new technique for controlling all load voltages to be within the
permissible voltage range under line loss minimum condition
by controlling both the load voltage magnitude and phase angle to follow reference values. The reference load phase angle
was calculated from the line loss minimum condition, whereas
the reference voltage magnitude was calculated based on the
voltage magnitude of each load in the loop system. Line loss
minimization can be achieved if the loop current is eliminated
from the loop system. This condition can be achieved if, at least,
the line parameters of all loop lines have the same ratio between
the resistance and inductance. This can be realized in the same
substation loop distribution system since it has only one substation for the whole loop, whereas in an isolated substations loop
system this condition cannot be realized due to the voltage difference between them, which may result from small difference
in the magnitude or phase angle. The difference between the
substation voltages results in an excessive loop current that will
flow in the loop lines even if the loop line parameter ratios are
same.
In this paper, the mathematical model of the isolated substations and the same substation multiple loop distribution system
is presented. Also, the line loss minimum condition is investigated by using the UPFC in both loop systems. The UPFC
shunt converter is used to regulate the dc-link voltage, whereas
the series converter is used to control the power flow in order to
achieve line loss minimum condition. Since the series converter
performs the main function of the UPFC, its proposed control
schemes in both cases are presented. The effectiveness of the
proposed control schemes are investigated experimentally using
a laboratory prototype of 200 V, 6 kVA.
II. MODEL OF THE ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS LOOP
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WITH THE UPFC
The UPFC is used in a loop distribution system as a series
compensator to control the power flow in the loop lines in order
to achieve line loss minimum condition. Fig. 2 shows a simple

Fig. 2.

Model of the isolated substations loop distribution system.

model of the isolated substations loop distribution system with

the UPFC equivalent circuit. Since the UPFC shunt converter is
used to regulate the dc-link voltage, its current is very small and
can be neglected. Therefore, the UPFC is simplified as a series
voltage source that represents the series converter voltage.
The loop system is represented by three distribution lines
(Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3). Each line has its resistance (Ri ) and
inductance (Li ), where i is the line number (i = 1, 2, 3). The
line impedance is represented by Z i = Ri + jLi . Since the
loop system is isolated substations, it is supplied from different
substations represented by two voltage sources (V 1 and V 2 ). The
system feeds two loads represented by constant current sources
(IL 1 and IL 2 ). The line current of each line in the loop system
flows in the same direction. The UPFC series injected voltage
is represented by the voltage source (V c ).
A. Before Installing the UPFC
The line currents Ii (i = 1, 2, 3), that flow in each line of
the loop system, before installing the UPFC, can be formulated
using Superposition theorem as follows:

(Z 2 + Z 3 )IL 1 + Z 2 IL 2 + (V 1 V 2 )

I1 =

Z lo op

1 IL 1 (Z 1 + Z 3 )IL 2 + (V 1 V 2 )

(1)
I2 =

Z lo op

Z 1 IL 1 + Z 2 IL 2 + (V 1 V 2 )

I3 =

Zlo op
where
Z lo op =

3

i=1

Z i , Rlo op =

3

i=1

Ri , Llo op =

3


Li .

(2)

i=1

According to the line loss minimization theory in the loop

distribution system [19][21], the line currents can be divided
into two currents. The first one is the current flow in each line
during the line loss minimum condition [Im i , (i = 1, 2, 3)], and
the second one is the loop current Ilo op that circulates in the
loop lines, as shown in Fig. 2. Therefore, the line current can be

SAYED AND TAKESHITA: LINE LOSS MINIMIZATION IN ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS AND MULTIPLE LOOP DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

5815

The loop current can be eliminated from the loop system if

the summation of the reactance voltage drop in addition to the
voltage difference between the substation voltages equals zero.
The summation of the reactance voltage drop equals zero if the
resistance-to-inductance ratio in each line of the loop system is
the same. Therefore, the loop current can be eliminated from
the loop system if the following conditions have been realized,
simultaneously:

R1 /L1 = R2 /L2 = R3 /L3

.
(9)
V 2 V 1 = 0
B. After Installing the UPFC for Line Loss Minimization
Fig. 3.

Equivalent circuit of the loop system under line loss minimization.

formulated as follows:
Ii = Im i + Ilo op .

(3)

The line currents that flow in each line of the loop system
during line loss minimization, [Im i , (i = 1, 2, 3)], can be formulated as follows:

Im 1 = {(R2 + R3 )IL 1 + R2 IL 2 }/Rlo op

(4)
Im 2 = {R1 IL 1 (R1 + R3 )IL 2 }/Rlo op .

Im 3 = {R1 IL 1 + R2 IL 2 }/Rlo op
Considering the voltage difference in substations, the loop
current Ilo op that circulates in the loop system lines can be
formulated as follows:

 3

1
Ilo op =
jLi Ii + (V 2 V 1 ) .
(5)
Rlo op i=1
The total power loss in the isolated substation loop system
lines can be formulated as follows:
Pl =

3

i=1

2
Ri Ii

3


 3


2
Ri Im i + 2
(Ri Im i ) Ilo op

i=1

i=1

2
+ Rlo op Ilo op .

3


(7)

i=1

The line loss minimum conditions can be obtained by equating the loop current, shown in (5) with zero, as follows:
3

i=1

jLi Ii + (V 2 V 1 ) = 0.

3


jLi Ii + (V 2 V 1 ).

(10)

i=1

As a function of time, the UPFC series converter voltage can be

formulated as follows:
vc =

3

i=1

Li

dii
+ (v 2 v 1 ).
dt

R1 /(L1 + Lc ) = R2 /L2 = R3 /L3 .

(6)

2
Ri Im i .

V c =

(11)

In the line inductance compensation scheme, the UPFC is

used to insert a virtual inductance, Lc , which realize same ratio between the resistance and inductance in each line of the
loop system. The inserted inductance Lc can realize the same
resistance-to-inductance ratio in the loop system as follows:

According to (6), the line loss minimum condition can be

achieved in the loop system if the loop current ILo op is eliminated from the system. In this case, the line currents that flow
in the loop lines after eliminating the loop current are [Im i ,
(i = 1, 2, 3)]. Fig. 3 shows the equivalent circuit of the isolated
loop distribution system in case of line loss minimization. Therefore, the resultant total line loss can be formulated as follows:
Plm in =

The UPFC is installed in an isolated substations loop system in order to eliminate the loop current from the system by
inserting a controlled series voltage that can compensate the
difference between substation voltages in addition to the summation of the reactance voltage drop in loop lines. In order to
compensate the summation of the reactance voltage drop, two
control schemes are proposed based on (8) and (9). These control schemes are line inductance compensation and line voltage
compensation. Both schemes have a common part that is used
to compensate the difference between the substation voltages.
In the line voltage compensation scheme, the series converter
voltage of the UPFC can be formulated as follows:

(8)

(12)

Therefore, the inserted inductance Lc can be calculated as

follows:
Lc = (R1 /R2 )L2 L1 .

(13)

Based on loop line parameters, the value of the inserted controlled inductance can be positive or negative [19]. The UPFC
series converter voltage, for line loss minimization, can be formulated as follows:
V c = jLc I1 + (V 2 V 1 ).

(14)

As a function of time, the UPFC series converter voltage can be

formulated as follows:
di1
+ (v 2 v 1 ).
v c = Lc
(15)
dt
It is clear that the line inductance compensation scheme can
be used in the loop distribution system if there is only one line

5816

Fig. 4.

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2014

Model of the multiple loop distribution system.

Fig. 5.

that has a different resistance-to-inductance ratio. Therefore,

only this line current in addition to the substation voltages are
required to obtain the reference voltage of the UPFC series
converter. On the other hand, the line voltage compensation
scheme can be used in the loop system if the resistance-toinductance ratio is not the same in, at least, two lines of the loop.
Also, in both schemes, the line loss minimum condition does
not need the load information. Both schemes depend on loop
line currents in addition to line impedance parameters to achieve
line loss minimization. Therefore, the system performance will
not be affected by load type.

III. MODEL OF THE SAME SUBSTATION MULTIPLE LOOP

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WITH THE UPFC
Fig. 4 shows the model of the same substation multiple loop
distribution system. It consists of three radial feeders fed from
the same substation. The loads fed from the radial lines are connected in parallel in order to obtain two adjacent loop systems.
For mathematical model simplification, the loads are assumed
to be adjacent. Therefore, the impedance parameters of the line
connecting them are neglected. Line 1 has a step voltage regulator (SVR), a common device used to compensate load voltages
along distribution feeders. It is assumed that the UPFC is installed in series with line 1 to achieve line loss minimization by
controlling the loop current in the two adjacent loop systems.
The line currents in loop lines should flow in the same direction.
Therefore, it is assumed that the currents I1 and I2 flow in the
counter clockwise direction, whereas the currents I2 and I3 flow
in the clockwise direction.

A. Before Installing the UPFC

Considering that the UPFC output voltage is zero, the three
load currents (IL 1 , IL 2 , and IL 3 ) can be lumped together in
a single load current (IL ). According to the location of the
SVR in line 1, the line parameter will be determined referred
to the secondary side. Fig. 5 shows the equivalent circuit of the
multiple loop system, shown in Fig. 4. The line currents in each
feeder of the loop distribution system model, shown in Fig. 5,

Equivalent circuit of the multiple loop system.

can be formulated as follows:




2 Z 3

Z
1

I1 =
I + (n1)V s

2 Z 3
2 + Z 3 L

Z
Z

Z 1 +

Z 2 + Z 3




Z 3
Z 1 Z 3
1

I2 =
IL
(n1)Vs

(16)
Z
Z
Z
Z
+
Z
+
Z
1
3
1
3
1
3

Z 2 +

Z 1 + Z 3




2
1 Z 2
Z
Z
1

I3 =
IL
(n1)V s

1 Z 2
1 + Z 2
1 + Z 2
Z
Z
Z

Z3 +

Z1 + Z2
where

Z 1 = R1 + jL1

(17)
R1 = n2 R1a + R1b

2
L1 = n L1a + L1b
IL = IL 1 + IL 2 + IL 3 .

(18)

Since the distribution system is connected to perform two

adjacent loop systems, the line currents in each feeder can be
divided into the loop circulating currents (Ilo op1 and Ilo op2 ) in
addition to the currents at line loss minimum condition ([Im i ,
(i = 1, 2, 3)]). Therefore, the line current can be formulated as
follows:

I1 = Im 1 + Ilo op1

I2 = Im 2 + Ilo op1 + Ilo op2 .

(19)

I3 = Im 3 + Ilo op2
The loop circulating current in each loop system can be formulated as follows:



Z 2

(V m 2 + V m 3 )
V m 1 + V m 2 (n1)V s +

Z 2 + Z 3

Ilo op1 =

Z
Z
2
3

Z 1 +

Z 2 + Z 3



Z 2

V m 1 + V m 2 (n1)V s (V m 2 + V m 3 )

Z + Z2

Ilo op2 = 1

1 Z 2

Z3 +

Z1 + Z2
(20)
V m i = Z i Im i (i = 1, 2, 3).

(21)

SAYED AND TAKESHITA: LINE LOSS MINIMIZATION IN ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS AND MULTIPLE LOOP DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

5817

According to (25), the line loss minimum condition can be

achieved if both loop currents (Ilo op1 and Ilo op2 ) are eliminated
from the system. In this case, the resultant total power loss can
be formulated as follows:
Plm in =

3


2
Ri Im i .

(26)

i=1

Fig. 6.

Equivalent model at line loss minimum condition.

Line loss minimization in the loop distribution system can

be achieved if the loop current is eliminated from the loop
system. This can be realized by compensating the inductance
voltage drop in each feeder constituting the loop system by
using a series compensator. Therefore, the equivalent circuit of
the loop distribution system, shown in Fig. 5, in case of line
loss minimization can be represented by a feeder resistance
only as shown in Fig. 6. The line currents of each feeder in the
system shown in Fig. 6, at line loss minimum condition, can be
formulated as follows:


R2 R3
1
IL
Im 1 =

R2 R3

R2 +R3

R1 +

R2 +R3

R1 R3
1

Im 2 =
IL
.
(22)
R1 R3
R1 +R3

R2 +

R1 +R3


R1 R2
1

Im 3 =
IL

R1 R2

R1 +R2

R3 +
R1 +R2
Based on (19), (20), and (22), the loop current in each loop
system (Ilo op1 and Ilo op2 ) can be formulated as follows:



R2

V 1 + V 2 (n1)V s +
(V 2 + V 3 )

R2 +R3

Ilo op1 =

R2 R3

R1 +

R2 +R3
(23)

R2 

V1 + V 2 (n1)V s (V 2 + V 3 )

R +R2

Ilo op2 = 1

R1 R2

R3 +
R1 +R2
V i = jLi Ii (i = 1, 2, 3).
(24)

It is clear from (23) that eliminating both loop currents from

the loop system, in order to realize line loss minimum condition,
can be achieved if the following two conditions are realized,
simultaneously:

V 1 + V 2 (n1)V s = 0
.
(27)
V 2 + V 3 = 0
B. After Installing the UPFC for Line Loss Minimization
The main objective of installing the UPFC in the same substation multiple loop distribution system is to realize the line
loss minimum condition by controlling the loop power flow,
using the series compensation scheme, provided by the inserted
controlled series converter voltage. Fig. 7(a) shows the multiple
loop distribution system with the UPFC in case of line loss minimization. The voltages (V1 , V2 , and V3 ) represent the inductive
voltage drop in each line (Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3). Using
Thevenins theorem, the system can be approximated as shown
in Fig 7 (b) and (c) in order to obtain the reference voltage of the
UPFC series converter. The parallel feeders (Line 2 and Line 3)
are approximated by a resistor Z 0 in series with a voltage source
V 0 , which can be formulated as follows:

R2 R3

Z 0 =

R2 +R3
.
(28)
R3
R2

V0 =
V2
V3
R2 +R3
R2 +R3
According to the approximated loop system shown in Fig. 7,
the reference voltage of the UPFC series converter can be formulated as follows:
V c = V 1 + V 0 (n1)V s .

Therefore, inserting a controlled series voltage by the UPFC

series converter as given in (29) results in loop currents Ilo op1
and Ilo op2 to be as follows:
Ilo op1 = 0

In this case, the total power loss can be formulated as a function

of the line currents and the loop currents as follows:
Pl =

3


2
Ri Ii

i=1

3

i=1

2
Ri Im i + 2(R1 Im 1 + R2 Im 2 ) Ilo op1

2
+ 2(R2 Im 2 + R3 Im 3 ) Ilo op2 + R1 Ilo op1

2

2
+ R2 Ilo op1 + Ilo op2 + R3 Ilo op2 .
(25)

(29)

V  + V 3
Ilo op2 = 2
R2 + R3
where
V i = jLi Ii
I = Im 1
1

(30)

.
I2 = Im 2 + Ilo op2

I3 = Im 3 + Ilo op2

(31)

5818

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2014

Fig. 8.

Configuration of the UPFC.

loop system is difficult. Line currents in the loop system can be

estimated as given in [22]. Moreover, the protection schemes of
the loop system add another challenge in the practical system.
Since the short-circuit current in loop distribution systems is
high, recent research works focus on protective devices for fault
isolation and fault location detecting methods [23], [24].
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Fig. 7. Multiple loop system with the UPFC and its equivalent circuit. (a)
Model of the multiple loop distribution system with the UPFC. (b) Thevenins
equivalent circuit of line 2 and line 3. (c) Equivalent circuit of the multiple loop
system with the UPFC.

Since the two loops are adjacent, the loop currents Ilo op1 and

Ilo op2 affect each other. The inserted controlled series voltage
has the ability to eliminate the loop current Ilo op1 , which reduces
the loop current Ilo op2 . However, the loop current Ilo op2 can be
eliminated, simultaneously with the loop current Ilo op1 , if its
loop lines have the same resistance-to-inductance ratio. The reference voltage of the UPFC series converter can be formulated,
as a function of time and line parameters, as follows:
v c = L1

di1
di2
R3
+
L2
dt
R2 +R3
dt

di3
R2
(n1)v s .
L3
R2 +R3
dt

(32)

Based on the line loss minimum conditions in both isolated substations and same substation multiple loop distribution system,
it is clear that the controlled series voltage depends mainly on
the line currents or line parameters. The change in line parameters due to the temperature is very small and it will be in all
line parameters, simultaneously. Therefore, it will not affect the
system performance. However, detecting all line currents of the

Two laboratory prototype systems have been carried out in

order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the line loss minimization in isolated substations and same substation multiple loop
distribution systems. In both systems, the UPFC is installed to
achieve line loss minimum condition. Experimental waveforms
of the line currents in all studied cases have been captured.
Bar charts have been presented to compare theoretical and experimental results in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the
experimental system and the proposed control schemes. All the
line currents, voltages, and total power loss are measured by
using Digital Power Meters (Yokogawa WT1600) that are connected simultaneously in the sending and receiving ends of each
line in addition to the input and output of the UPFC converter
in the experimental system. The power loss in each line is calculated from the difference between the sending and receiving
powers.
A. UPFC Circuit Configuration
One of the most promising FACTS devices is the UPFC,
which has been introduced by Gyugiy in 1991 [25]. Fig. 8
shows the configuration of the UPFC used in the experimental system. It consists of combined series and shunt converters
connected back to back to each other through a common dclink capacitor. The series converter, which acts as a controllable
voltage source v c , is used to inject a controlled voltage in series
with the distribution line and thereby to force the power flow to
a desired value. In general, the series converter exchanges the
active and reactive power with the line while performing this
duty. The reactive power is electronically provided by the series
converter itself, whereas the active power is transmitted to the
dc terminals. The main function of the shunt converter, which
acts as a controllable current source ic , is to regulate the dc-link
voltage by adjusting the amount of the active power drawn from
the distribution line to meet the real power needed by the series

SAYED AND TAKESHITA: LINE LOSS MINIMIZATION IN ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS AND MULTIPLE LOOP DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

5819

TABLE I
PARAMETERS OF THE ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS LOOP SYSTEM

Fig. 9.

Experimental configuration of the isolated substations loop system.

converter. In addition, the shunt converter has the capability of

controlling the reactive power [26][29].
The UPFC series and shunt converters, shown in Fig. 8,
have been built as a three-phase pulse width modulation converter with IGBT SKM100GB124D as the power device. The
Expert-III DSP system-based TMS320VC33 is selected as the
controller for both converters. The shunt converter is connected
in parallel with the distribution line via a three-phase transformer. The series converter, multilevel converter [30], [31],
consists of three single-phase H-bridge converters. The ac terminals of each H-bridge converter are connected in series with
the distribution line through a single-phase transformer. The
switching and sampling frequency for series and shunt converters are 2.45 and 4.9 kHz, respectively.
The main function of the UPFC series converter is to realize
line loss minimization in the isolated substations and multiple
loop distribution systems by injecting a controlled series voltage
based on the line loss minimum condition in each case. The main
function of the shunt converter is to regulate the dc-link voltage.
Therefore, in the following discussion, the shunt converter is
disregarded because its current, ic , is very small.
B. Isolated Substations Loop Distribution System
Fig. 9 shows the 6-kVA, 200-V laboratory prototype of the
distribution system and the UPFC converters. The distribution
system consists of two radial feeders fed from different sources
that have same magnitude but a difference of 10 in the phase
angle. The two radial feeders can be transformed to the loop
system by connecting the loads in parallel. The parameters of
the whole system are listed in Table I. The proposed line inductance compensation scheme and line voltage compensation
scheme have been used, respectively, to control the UPFC series converter in order to realize line loss minimization. In each
control scheme, all line currents and loop current in addition
to the source voltage difference are measured before and after
installing UPFC.

Fig. 10. Experimental waveforms using the line voltage compensation scheme
in the isolated substations loop system.

1) Controlling the UPFC Using the Line Voltage Compensation Scheme: In order to control the UPFC series converter
using the line voltage compensation scheme, all line currents
and source voltages are detected to calculate the reference voltage as given in (11). In this scheme, the UPFC is considered as
a voltage source to compensate the line inductance voltage drop
in addition to the difference in source voltages. Fig. 10 shows
the experimental waveforms of source voltages difference v,
reference voltage of the UPFC series converter (v c ), line 1 current (i1 ), line 2 current (i2 ), and loop current (ilo op ) of the loop
system before and after installing the UPFC. It is clear that after
installing the UPFC, the loop current is eliminated from the loop
system, and hence, the line loss minimum condition is realized.
The total power loss in the UPFC converters is 83.58 W.
2) Controlling the UPFC Using the Line Inductance Compensation Scheme: In order to control the UPFC series converter using the line inductance compensation scheme, only the
UPFC line current and the source voltages are detected to calculate the reference voltage as given in (15). In this scheme, the
UPFC is considered as an inductance (Lc ) in series with a voltage source. The inductance (Lc ) compensates the loop system
line parameters in order to achieve equal ratio of the resistance
to inductance for all loop lines, whereas the additional voltage
source compensates the difference in source voltages. According to (13), the inserted inductance Lc = 0.13mH. Fig. 11 shows
the experimental waveforms of the source voltages difference
v, reference voltage of the UPFC series converter (v c ), line
1 current (i1 ), line 2 current (i2 ), and loop current (ilo op ) of

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2014

Fig. 13.
system.

Fig. 11. Experimental waveforms using the line inductance compensation

scheme in the isolated substations loop system.

Experimental configuration of the same substation multiple loop

TABLE II
PARAMETERS OF THE SAME SUBSTATION MULTIPLE LOOP SYSTEM

loop before installing the UPFC, and reduced by 16.5% compared with radial.
C. Same Substation Multiple Loop Distribution System

Fig. 12. Comparison between theoretical and experimental results for radial,
isolated substations loop system without the UPFC, and isolated substations
loop system with the UPFC.

the loop system before and after installing the UPFC. Experimental results show that after installing the UPFC, the loop
current is eliminated from the loop system, and hence, the line
loss minimum condition is realized. The total power loss in the
UPFC converters is 80.95 W. Also, it is clear that the experimental results obtained by both schemes coincide with each other
since they provide the same function for the same system with
different control techniques.
The bar chart shown in Fig. 12 presents a comparison between theoretical and experimental results of the experimental
system that works as radial, isolated substations loop before installing the UPFC, and isolated substations loop after installing
the UPFC controlled by the line voltage and line inductance
compensation schemes. In both control schemes, after installing
the UPFC, the total line loss is reduced by 37.3% compared with

Fig. 13 shows the 6-kVA, 200-V laboratory prototype of the

same substation distribution system that consists of three radial
feeders, which can be reconfigured to loop by connecting the
loads in parallel. SVR is taken into consideration by installing
in series with line 1. The parameters of the whole system are
listed in Table II. The UPFC is installed in the loop system as
shown in Fig. 13 to achieve the line loss minimum condition
by eliminating the loop currents from the two mesh circuits. In
order to achieve that, the UPFC has been controlled to insert a
reference series voltage as given in (32).
Fig. 14 shows the experimental waveforms of the UPFC series
converter voltage v c , line 1 current on both side of the SVR (i1a
and i1b ), line 2 current i2 , line 3 current i3 , and the two loop
currents (ilo op1 and ilo op2 ) before and after installing the UPFC.
Before installing the UPFC, the difference in the resistance-toinductance ratio in the line parameters of loop 1 causes the loop
current to pass in this loop (I lo op1 = 2.05 A). Although the line
parameters of loop 2 have the same resistance-to-inductance
ratio, there is a loop current (I lo op2 = 1.04 A), which results
from the effect of loop 1 current. Since the injected power of
the UPFC is small, the total power loss in the UPFC converter is
20 W. It is clear that after installing the UPFC, both loop currents
have been diminished from the distribution system, and hence,
the line loss minimum condition has been realized.

SAYED AND TAKESHITA: LINE LOSS MINIMIZATION IN ISOLATED SUBSTATIONS AND MULTIPLE LOOP DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

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V. CONCLUSION
This paper has presented the line loss minimum condition
and the power flow control schemes of the UPFC to realize line
loss minimization in the isolated substations and the same substation multiple loop distribution systems, along with a detailed
mathematical analysis of both systems. The line loss minimum
condition has been realized in the loop distribution system by
compensating the line reactance voltage drop in addition to the
difference of substation voltages in the case of isolated substations loop system. Two control schemes of the UPFC series
converter have been proposed to achieve line loss minimum
condition in loop systems. These control schemes are the line
inductance compensation and line voltage compensation. The
effectiveness of the proposed control schemes has been verified
experimentally using a laboratory prototype 6 kVA, 200 V. A
comparison between experimental and theoretical results has
been presented to evaluate the accuracy of the results and the
validity of line loss minimum condition theory. Theoretical and
experimental results agree well. Experimental results prove that
the UPFC has a great capability to achieve line loss minimization in isolated substations and the same substation multiple
loop distribution systems.
Fig. 14.

Experimental waveforms of the same substation multiple loop system.

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Fig. 15. Comparison between theoretical and experimental results for radial,
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multiple loop system with the UPFC.

Fig. 15 shows a comparison between theoretical and experimental results of both loop currents and total line loss for the
system that works as radial, same substation multiple loop without the UPFC, and same substation multiple loop after installing
the UPFC. It is clear that after installing the UPFC, the total line
loss is reduced by 12.5% compared with loop before installing
the UPFC, and reduced by 24.6% compared with radial.

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Mahmoud A. Sayed (M09) was born in Qena Prefecture, Egypt, in 1974. He received the B.Sc. and
M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Minia
University, El-Minia, Egypt, in 1997 and 2001, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Nagoya
Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan, in 2010.
Since 1999, he has been with the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt, first as an Administrator and since 2001 as a Research Assistant.
Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, South Valley University,
Qena, Egypt. His research interests include series and shunt compensation of
electrical distribution systems for voltage regulation and loss reduction using
series and shunt PWM converters in addition to renewable energy applications
and machine drives.
Dr. Sayed is a Member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society.

Takaharu Takeshita (M92) was born in Aichi,

Japan, on August 23, 1959. He received the B.S.
and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the
Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya Japan, in
1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree
from Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, in 1990.
Since 1991, he has been with the Nagoya Institute
of Technology, where he is currently a Full Professor
and is engaged in research on power converter system
and motor control.
Dr. Takeshita is a Member of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers.