Summary
In this paper, a biogeography‐based optimization is proposed for fault section estimation of distribution systems. This method mimics the geographical distribution of biological species, where the formulation, migration, and extinction of species are all included in the algorithm development. The method comes with relatively few computation steps and owns a larger probability of reaching the quality solution when compared with other published techniques. By establishing the mathematical models for the states of protective devices and fault sections, this biogeography‐based optimization is applied to estimate the fault section on two example systems and three real systems in order to validate the effectiveness of this proposed approach. From simulation results gained from the proposed methods, they help support the feasibility of the method for the fault diagnosis applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.