Abstract: After distributed power sources are connected to the distribution network, the characteristics of fault currents change, increasing the difficulty of fault location. Aiming at the problem of fault location in active distribution networks, a fault location method for active distribution networks based on the improved seagull optimization algorithm is proposed. This paper improves the traditional fault current coding method of distribution networks to make it applicable to active distribution networks, and at the same time proposes the switch function for fault location in active distribution networks, then, the basic seagull optimization algorithm is improved, and the diversity of the initialized seagull population is enriched through the improved Logistics chaotic mapping. Perform nonlinearization processing on the linear parameter H to make it more compatible with the convergence process; the sinusoidal and cosine operators are introduced to achieve a balance between global search and local development of the algorithm, so as to improve the optimization quality, and adaptive t-distribution variation is implemented to enhance the optimization speed. Through simulation verification in the IEEE 33-node distribution network example and comparison with other intelligent optimization algorithms, the results show that the improved seagull optimization algorithm has significant advantages in positioning speed, the number of iterations, and fault-tolerant capability.

    Key words: distributed generation; distribution network; fault location; improved seagull optimization algorithm; fault-tolerant performance