Topology Optimization and Control of the Hybrid DC Converter for Offshore Wind Farms

This paper proposes a hybrid optimization method to optimize the topological structure of an offshore-wind-farm power collection system, in which the cable connection, cable selection and substation location are optimally designed. Firstly, the optimization model was formulated, which integrates cable investment, energy loss and line construction. Then, the Prim algorithm was used to initialize the population. A novel hybrid optimization, named PSAO, based on the merits of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and aquila optimization (AO) algorithms, was presented for topological structure optimization, in which the searching characteristics between PSO and AO are exploited to intensify the searching capability. Lastly, the proposed PSAO method was validated with a real case. The results showed that compared with GA, AO and PSO algorithms, the PSAO algorithm reduced the total cost by 4.8%, 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively, while achieving better optimization efficiency.