Application of Fuzzy Logic for Reactive Power Compensation of Radial Distribution Feeders

A new algorithm determines the exact optimal solution for capacitor allocation in radial distribution feeders. Results of previous work using fuzzy and heuristic strategies, on this feeder, are compared with the exact reference solution. The effect of varying some parameters in the membership functions to get better results is discussed. Also, the effect of selection of parameters that should be used in the fuzzy modeling is investigated. The advantages of the fuzzy and heuristic methods presented are combined in a new fuzzy-heuristic idea. This combined technique is verified, by the application to test feeders, to give better results. Different fuzzy decision-making forms are applied to the fuzzy modeling problem. A recommendation is made for the most efficient way to get a solution equal or very close to the optimal.