Towards optimized exchange topologies in smart distribution grids

Abstract

The smart grid is a highly relevant application area for distributed algorithms. Many of these algorithms use a predefined topology to control the information exchange between the distributed entities. Consequently, this exchange topology has a strong impact on the performance of the distributed algorithm. For several algorithms their distributed nature is part of the algorithm itself. Furthermore, the properties of the virtual links defined by the exchange topology are determined by the characteristics of the underlying communication infrastructure (CIS). This work aims to design optimized exchange topologies that support certain distributed algorithms that can be used for reactive scheduling in smart distribution grids. For this purpose, supportable algorithms have to be identified and their communication requirements have to be derived. In addition, relevant properties and a suitable degree of abstraction of the CIS have to be determined. Finally it has to be investigated whether properties of the smart grid and the distributed energy resources (DER) and controllable loads are significant factors that can be used to achieve an increased performance of the supported algorithm.