An intelligent front end for secondary power distribution system design

The development and use of an expert-system (ES)-based intelligent front end (IFE) for radial-type electric power secondary distribution system (single-phase/three-phase, overhead/underground) design is described. The design is based on minimizing the total annual cost (TAC) of owning and operating the system, subject to specified voltage drop and dip criteria. A rule-based, goal-driven, backward chaining ES shell, VP-Expert, is used to create the IFE and interface it with relational database (dBASE) files on transformer data and transmission line data. The IFE has a very friendly user interface and makes use of a dialog method to communicate with the user. Menus are used to ask for user inputs. The IFE approach is illustrated by means of an example problem involving secondary distribution system design in an urban area. A sample dialog generated during a typical consultation session is presented. The advantages of using an expert system shell as an IFE to existing database files maintained by electric utility companies for secondary distribution system design are discussed